By Mark J. Donovan
When thinking about going green with your next home purchase or custom home building project, consider an Earth Home.
An Earth home is extremely energy efficient. It is typically covered by three sides, and its roof, with several feet of soil, rock and/or concrete. It typically has one open side that faces the south or southwest for maximum passive solar heating benefit.
One of the major reasons an earth home is extremely energy efficient is that it is encased in the earth which has typically has a constant temperature of around 55 degrees farenheight. In addition, when building an earth home, the home is typically encased with rigid insulation and waterproofing on the outside concrete walls before they are backfilled with soil/earth.
Another reason earth homes are so environmentally friendly is that they are typically small in square footage. In addition, they usually have few windows, except for the open side. Consequently their heating/air conditioning requirements are minimal.
Though the lack of square footage and windows could initially be considered a turn off by many, with proper architectural considerations, such as creating large open areas and using interior lighting intelligently, an earth home can be designed to feel large and bright. In addition, the open side, facing south can be designed as a wall of windows to maximize solar heat and sunlight.
Another major cost savings with earth homes is the low cost of home insurance. Earth homes are less susceptible to wind damage, hail damage, theft and fire.
So if you are thinking of building a green home, research the idea of an Earth Home. You may be surprised on how roomy and contemporary an earth home can be.
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