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Quickscrews Cabinet Install Screws
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Most of the underground dwellings in Coober Pedy are excavated into the hillsides. The stable surrounding soil offers natural walls and huge ceiling expanses. The insulating, thermal properties of the surrounding soil allow the home interiors to stay at a comfortable 23-25 degrees Celsius (73-77 degrees Fahrenheit) year-round, even when temperatures outside are almost double. In many cases, families will hand-excavate tunnels to create corridors connecting different dwellings. These dugout homes are a far cry from our prehistoric ancestors' simple cave dwellings, with many of the underground "mansions" spanning 450 square meters (over 4800 square feet)! Check out the available bed and breakfasts and "homestays" at Coober Pedy to get an idea of how luxurious an underground home can be!
What Are the Energy Efficiency Advantages of Underground Homes?
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that earth-sheltered homes were less susceptible to extreme outdoor air temperature impacts. This means that you won't be affected by inclement weather like in a conventional house. There is more stability in indoor temperatures than in traditional homes. With less temperature variability, interior rooms seem more comfortable. The earth's average underground temperature ranges between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, with some variability based on your location. This pleasantly cool temperature, combined with the subsoil's natural insulation, means that underground homes require very little artificial heating and cooling.
An earth-sheltered home could also be designed with passive solar heating to virtually eliminate the need for any additional heating or cooling loads. Passive solar homes have a south-facing orientation. An earth-sheltered dwelling buried into rock or turf could potentially "open up" to the southern hemisphere, with large windows allowing the natural heat from the sun to warm the home. The interior soil or rock walls would also act as a thermal mass to store and slowly release that heat into the well-insulated earthen home.
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Returning to prehistoric types of shelter is certainly not feasible in today's world. However, that doesn't mean that we can't attempt to re-create some of the advantages that came with our cave-dwelling ancestors. In the right climate and terrain, earth-sheltered homes could offer energy efficiency, sustainability, and long-term economic benefits for homeowners.
Rise Writer
Expert. Practical. Sustainable.
Article by
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
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