Underground dwelling

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  • March 12, 2010 at 12:00 AM #62686
    tkarttu
    Member

    Hi All.

    Could a Hobbit house with some passive techniques provide a relatively comfort off-grid living even here in Finland, over 60 deg North? My plan is certainly expensive but is it feasible? https://koti.mbnet.fi/maaputki/engindex.html – Solar House Plan link on the left.

    March 13, 2010 at 12:00 AM #64466
    elnav
    Member

    yes! Underground houses were all the rage some 30 – 40 years ago among young architects but somehow the general public never really got on board. Which is not to say the idea was bad just that people are very resistant to change. By coincidence I happened to find an old book published in 1980 dealing with this very topic. It was published by the Rhodale press and the articles written by various staff editors of the Rhodale magazine. Unless you have to blast into solid bedrock the plan may not be that much more expensive. You could opt for a base laid on surface bedrock and then bury the house after construction. I suggest you look into archived architectural books and papers dating back to 1975 – 1985 era and you will find plenty of good results. In fact Finland is an excellent place for such construction. given the climate. Light wells and prisms now help make such housing as bright inside as a surface built house.

    March 29, 2010 at 12:00 AM #64453
    Silversurvivor
    Member

    Im looking into rain water storgage. The main thing is keeping it away from sunlight. You can get a huge container to bury and have all your drainpipes run into it through some good filters.

    Then have a hand pump up to the loft another tank and a gravity feed to the taps and rest of the house.

    You would have to boil or at least filter before drinking, but its worth doing that with mains water these days especially in London.

    Also I was reading in MoneyWeek the other day about the changes coming in with sola panels.

    Moneyweek said the government will allow the first grand a year tax free of what you sell back to the grid.

    Be great to have enough sola panels to provide for your own house and a grand a year tax free back to the grid.

    May 21, 2010 at 12:00 AM #64504
    elnav
    Member

    Are you saying you are near London? Although you mention filters, are you taking into account the toxic chemicals contained in the air close to major urban centers. In Ontario Canada acid raid caused by industrial smoke stack emissions caused widespread damage for hundreds of miles around. Not to mention which all the lakes were also affected, some to the extent of killing off the fish stock.

    Sulphur dioxide is among the main polluting chemicals but traces of other more toxic elements can also be present.

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