Not just for hobbits and other fairy tale characters, earth sheltering is a viable passive option to mitigate heating and cooling costs of your home.

I know that when most people think about these homes, they worry about resale and property value and while I have an argument for that I will save it for another thread (coming soon).

When you "bury" part or all of your home into the earth you gain the benefits of the regularized temperatures of the earth. This varies slightly but is around 65 degrees fahrenheit (i think). You save so much by not having to heat or cool your home as much. Heating and cooling are the largest drains on power from the residential perspective.

So if you can get over the non-traditional appearances and the unique nature of an earth sheltered home, this may be the right option for you.

I am pretty sure that there are more earth sheltered homes than you realize. In the American Southwest, it is a much more common practice. I do think that in some parts of the country where tract homes are king, that this practice will likely never catch on. I love the idea myself but have no opportunities to build my home that way.

Earth sheltering is ok in some places but I agree that its unlikely to go over very well with the house buying public at large. It does restrict a design a bit doesn't it. You lose some of the 360 degree nature of a home.

Earth sheltering is one of those techniques that has several variants. You can go to the extreme of burying most or all of your house in the ground (much more rare) or you can use berms and vegetation to block prevailing winds. You can simply earth shelter one side of the house through changing the topography or building into a hillside. It doesn't have to be the extreme that some people jump to.

Carl, have you been to a contractor built neighborhood lately. Sure the houses are free standing and not earth sheltered, but they are anything but 360 degrees in nature. These houses are meant to be looked at from one side and one side only.

btb, Thanks for the info. I agree that the suburban home is all about the street side and have little to nothing worthwhile on the back sides. I wonder why those houses with back sides to the north couldn't take advantage of some earth sheltering.

CN,

I definitely think that would spit in the face of most HOAs. I don't think its very likely though. Most earth sheltered houses are in more open spaces.