Quote:
Originally Posted by JRMichler
I toured an earth sheltered home in Illinois a few years ago. The builder claimed low heating bills. The home was originally built with hot water radiant heat in the floor, with the heat provided by a gas hot water heater rated at 40,000 BTUH. That was not enough
For comparison, my own above ground house is located in Northern Wisconsin only needs 13,000 BTUH to heat it in colder weather
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If you build underground, insulation is paramount.
While it is warmer down in the ground than in free air in winter, buildings usually don't go deep enough to really gain enough from that heat. So if you're not careful, the heat will still leak away into the ground.
Done properly, a (semi)submerged building can benefit both in winter and summer.
Essentially, it means using the earth as an extra layer of insulation and for thermal inertia - but cold bridges must still be avoided.
Here (50° N, temperate sea climate) rather than build in the ground, people often use tubes sunk around 6-7' in the ground to draw in air : pre-cooled in summer, pre-warmed in winter.