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| The mis-adventures of the Bailey family building their own home |
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Playing in the Yard on Baiiley Bear Ridge
Earth Powered Heat and Air Conditioning
We spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to make efficient use of the earth's power in moderating heat and cool throughout the year. I have studied geothermal systems and we even have a 400' geothermal well that we will be tapping.
We considered burying geothermal lines through the property to supplement these properties of the earth around us.
One day I was discussing the floor plans for the Earth Shelter House with Jennifer's father who is a builder. I was trying to figure a way to make a wall that is adjacent to all the rooms in the house so I could have a good utility wall for plumbing, electrical and more. I do not want to build the Earth Shelter House and not have the ability to make changes in these systems that would disturb the look of the house. For example, I did not want to need to add an electrical outlet and leave an exposed conduit running down the wall.
Wayne, Jennifer's father, suggested adding a 'crawl space' along the outside of the floor plan for this purpose. Since we were brain storming, the idea was not shot down. Upon more discussion and thought the space came up with more advantages: |
- If we made it wider, we could install shelving and have a great storage area.
- Since it runs the length of the house we could gently force air through the area to exchange heat with the earth wall making it a geothermal wall.
- More recently we discovered we could use it as a fire escape from the bedrooms in the middle of the house that do not have a second escape route.
- And of course, the original reason, the provision of a utility wall that would allow future changes of the house without the need for things like condiuts being added to the house.
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| To see more on how this fits into the design of the house, check out the Floor Plans on the Floor Plans page. |
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