Ohio Bio-Enviro Settlements, Inc.
Our Earth-Shelter House Design
This is an artists concept of our earth-sheltered home. We are working towards building a small test and research community in New Athens Ohio, for 45 families. These homes are 4 stories in height, and are designed to be built into the side of a hill with the full south facing front exposed to the sun. A 12 foot wide 3 foot thick retaining wall will be flanking each home, to keep the earth from flowing beyond the structure, and to designate the property line for each home. The top or Greenhouse level that sits on top of the structure, is the only part of the home that is fully exposed and not earth-sheltered. Each house will have it's own solar water heating system, and a 12 volt PV (solar) power system built in, with storage batteries, so that the redundant and pumping systems will be maintained at all times.
LEVEL 1
Level 1 will be built on a 2 course, concrete filled, 12 inch block foundation, to accommodate waste plumbing and Radon Gas dissipation 26 foot below grade level. This level will contain the Living Room, the combination Kitchen/Dining Room, The Study, and the garage with a laundry area. This is also the level that connects to a continuos underground hall way at the back of all the homes to facilitate trash removal and all plumbing, electrical and ventilation conduits to the homes. A front deck for recreation also sits on this level. A recycled rubber road made from waste tire rubber will run in front of this level.
LEVEL 2
Level 2 is the family sleeping level. Each home will have a total of 3 bedrooms, 2 children's, and 1 master bedroom. This universal design will encourage family size limitations, and in doing so will ease the environmental impact that large families have on it. It will also encourage, family planning. The exposed front of the home and its' (south facing) windows will be used solar gain to decrease the need for auxiliary heating in the home.
LEVEL 3
Level 3 is the bio-mass level. The large (south facing) windows are designed to take advantage of solar gain and heating of the bio-mass tanks that are on this level. This area also houses the PV (solar) powers station, and the batteries used by those systems. It also houses the heat transfer blower system, that functions much like a regular forced air furnace, without the need for an auxiliary heating source. This level also accommodates the traditional attic and/or basement storage needs of a family. Each family will be responsible for at least part of their electrical generation needs, ad also will be responsible with complying with the overall recycling, and sustainability programs at the settlement.
LEVEL 4
Level 4 is the green house level, where food can be grown year round, and other vegetation and trees can be added to help with interior air quality issues. It is built at ground level, so that access in the growing season can be from both inside and outside. The size of this greenhouse also makes it available as an additional semi-outdoor recreational area for the family during winter months, thus assuring adequate exposure to sunlight and it's benefits, and a decrease in the winter blahs many people experience yearly in the northern part of the nation. The 9 foot deck surrounding 3 sides of the greenhouse will allow for the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables, in large wheel planters that can be moved inside during the winter months.
