are underground homes/earth sheltered homes really worth it?

I live in an earth embanked house. This is in a tree sheltered space in an open wind swept location. To explain the embanking:

Our house is barely visible from the north, only about 30 cm of north wall is exposed below the roof, and that 30 cm is sheltered via a 30 cm board that comes down from the roof.

West wall is embanked 2.5 metres, South and east walls embanked 60 cm above floor level.

I do not need extra heavy material, but the north and west walls do require strong reinforced concrete. The north and south walls are kept from leaning in by the roof. The west wall is short and buttressed.

We considered adding a green roof as the original design did include an earth covered design. The design was rejected on that account by our building inspection department.

Our south wall has window space 1.5 metres high by 24 metres wide. So our main problem is that we get too much sun for comfort some of the time. Even with a cloudy day we have lots of sun.

Because the concrete floor is directly exposed to the earth below, it is insulated below the concrete, and the concrete is made with a lot of field stone, so that the concrete is about 25 cm deep. This concrete absorbs the heat of the sun shining through the south windows, so that this is a passive solar heated design.

One drawback from having the whole wall space embanked, other than the two doors, we could have a problem with radon collecting in at least the 4 cm that our lowest door is above the floor. We have repeatedly done tests for this and have not had a detectable radiation level. If we had had radon, we would have needed to use a pipe and fan to remove it. (A lot of basements in some area need this treatment.)

The simple structure we built was much less costly than the original design. Strength to hold up an earth covering is costly. We did get about the same level of resistance to loss of heat, but not as much resistance to entrance of heat, since there is no growing grass to cool the roof. In summer we have to use ventilation to keep the house cool.

Our house cost us sweat equity plus about $20,000 of material cost, in 1979-80. Our cost of heating has been close to zero in most years. We have burned some wood picked up from the lot (fallen limbs and a few trees cut down) to a total of about one full cord per year.

We would probably not repeat this exact design again. Since we built this we have encountered several other designs that at comparable cost would accomplish the same thing but provide more living space. We would have to be fairly sure that the site has no radon or make sure that at least one side of the building the radon can leave the building without being pumped.

Earth embankment has to be built with a site orientation. It presents some drainage needs that can be hard to accomplish in some locations. Our home at first glance appears to be positioned where it could never have flooding of any kind. Yet tree roots blocked our drain down the grade, and the immediate surrounding of the house produced melting snow that went into the weeping tile and thus into the lowest part of the house, flooding one room to a depth of 4-5 cm. We had no sump because we never imagined this to be possible. The water did run away over the surface once it reached the level of the door sill.

Our area has an occasional seismic event to about Richter 3.2. For that reason we prefer to have no heavy weight above us. But our heavy earth embankment is very rigid. The wall did crack top to bottom in the last event, but the wall stayed aligned because of the reinforcing. The floor also cracked and slightly misaligned because it does not have reinforcing.

Heavier structures do present more risk for earthquakes than light structures. We actually have more risk of tornado damage, and having a lot of window space is an extra risk that necessitates having protected spaces.

Earth Contact Homes

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RE:

are underground homes/earth sheltered homes really worth it?

When looking up the pros and cons, all I found is that they save on heating and cooling (and the only con being they need thicker material). Well wouldn't you need more lighting in it than the average house? Wouldn't it be a safety issue if your home was mostly underground? Wouldn't...

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In reality, you only need to be in the shelter long enough for the fall out dust to settle. This could be weeks depending on how far away the blast is to you compared to wind currents. A simple storm shelter that is underground is enough to protect you. Give it a filtered air intake and stock it with some food, and live knowing you have some shelter. I've seen fiberglass storm shelters for a few thousand. With a few feet of soil on top would give you a good rating for a shelter.

I think it depends on the climate whether they are worthi t or not, also whether or not you're financially in trouble. You would need more lighting in it, if you installed windows and you lived in a sunnier place, that could work. To be really pioneer, you could use candles. It might be easier to install electricity underground because a lot of our wires and such are down there. True, you would, under there would be darker than an average house. Safety issue depending, once again, on where you lived. If you lived in earth quake and blizzard central then it would be bad. Bad choice to live underground somewhere like LA. You would need the right installations and the right equipment to keep yourself safe. A green roof would be exceptionally better.

Actually, IF properly constructed, the cost can be LESS than a standard above ground home. (In part they are NOT as susceptible to severe weather problems such as tornadoes!)

Since MOST people use lights even in the daytime, this has, effectively, no effect on utility costs.

I will admit the view from an underground house can leave much to be desired, but it can USUALLY be built in a way that gives a view and still minimizes the heat and cooling losses in most areas.

Earth Berm Homes

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Yes windows allow more light, but they also let in more heat or cold, depending on the season, so to make up for the light, you can use compact fluorescent lights to still save on energy. Windows, if they're not properly insulated, then they can be a burden on heating or cooling costs as much or more as light is if you don't have them.

There are pro's and con's to living in caves / earth sheltered homes...They are best in areas with extreme climates.