Earth Homes Now
Earth homes have been around since humans on the planet began.
Earth homes at that time were caves, huts or holes, all natural,
with compliments of Mother Earth. Since that time houses have
developed, expanded, been "mansion-ized", supersized
and highrised to the point of being anything but natural.
Well, not to fear because underdog is here (did I just say that?).
No, really, to put all silliness aside momentarily, earth homes
are making a comeback now that "green" is in and people
are wanting to live a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.
Earth homes is a somewhat generic term that can be applied to
many different kinds of environmentally sound housing. For instance,
underground homes, earth bermed, earth sheltered or rammed homes
fall under this category. Many consider cobb homes which consist
of mud and straw to be earth homes.
Let's not forget straw bale houses (similar to hay bales for
horses) or adobe dwellings either as earth homes. And of course
another category is compressed earth homes. You see Mother Earth
is very versatile in what she gives us in which to build homes.
So, on these pages we will be talking about these types of earth
homes as previously stated:
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- Underground homes
- Earth bermed homes
- Earth rammed homes
- Earth sheltered
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- Adobe
- Compressed earth homes
- Cave homes
- Earthbag homes
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One of the wonderful features of all of these different kinds
of earth homes is that they offer excellent insulation from heat
and cold. Any structure covered with thick dirt, mud, rock or
straw will not only shelter one from the elements, but also from
the sun and biting cold as well.
Lower energy bills are one of the advantages of earth homes.
And with lower energy bills means fewer fossil fuels from the
power plants are being puffed into the atmosphere. If a person
wants to cut down on their carbon footprint then an earth home
is an excellent start.
Add some solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal or hydro energy
and you can even have a negative carbon footprint as well. And,
let's not even mention that lower energy bills are good for one's
pocketbook.
Earth homes can also be much cheaper to build than traditional
houses with wooden, brick or cinder block structures. One disadvantage
of building an earth home can be that it may be harder to sell,
when you want to move.
This is because real estate agents don't know how to price customized
earth homes and lenders are reluctant to give home loans when
property values of neighboring houses don't reflect the value
of one's earth home.
On the flip side to this argument is also that enthusiasts of
earth homes may pay over the asking price if it is something for
which they are looking. Anyway, I will cover this in additional
pages on this website as time permits.
But, my assignment to you is to get some earth today and start
building or get a pencil and start sketching your dream earth
home. Tomorrow the world will be a much greener place if we just
take one small step towards this goal today.
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