FOUR: Natural Homes; ecologically sensible living
Below are books that are simply
fantastic in the "new", environmentally friendly, home arena...
I've assembled the best of the best, in terms of all the books
available. Check 'em out for yourself.
Keep this page open in your browser. It's much easier to scan through all of the books!
The
first section I have included is on the "Earthship" building style.
Click on the picture to the left to see the style of home that I
am building in the near future. Order the books below, which will give you the basic knowledge
necessary for building your own, independent home. Although I am in
total agreement to the concepts of the "Earthship" building process, I
have augmented on the construction with one MAJOR addition - no matter
what the books may say, there is NO thermal mass associated with old
tires filled with sand! Take the time to visit the website of the "Earthship"
(
http://www.earthship.org ), and review it
carefully ( I suggest that you keep this browser window to my site
open, and order the books through "Amazon.com", as the prices offered
for the books are much lower than anywhere else that you will
find!)...after you've been "hooked" on the building concept...take it a
step further, and add some thermal mass to your home - by using poured
CONCRETE and STONE to form your walls and foundation - this offers true
THERMAL MASS! You can view an extraordinary website for truly
"off-grid" passive solar homes and living at:
http://www.thenaturalhome.com/index.html...this is the type of
home that is pictured to the left.
This is also
the type of home that I , myself am building. I have taken most of the
concepts provided through many years of research, from the "Earthship"
type of building style, to passive solar homes, underground houses,
solar-electric concepts, and, by combining this with "Archetara" (The
Natural Home Building Source) and their truly revolutionary plans and
concepts, I will end up with a distinctive, beautiful "off-grid"
passive solar sustainable home, with a Tesla Turbine powering my
primary back-up generator, of coarse ;) . I hope you enjoy all of
the books offered. I wish you success with your new home building
project. FDG
Here are the books for the "Earthship" building process:
Comfort
in Any Climate
by Michael Reynolds
List
Price:
$19.95
Our Price: $13.96
Comfort in Any Climate
is about creating a comfortable space in any climate without the use of
fossil fuels for heating and cooling. The book describes the difference
between thermal mass and insulation, and how to apply these building
components to a passive solar design. Comfort in Any Climate breaks
down important sustainable design concepts into clear, easily
understood elements: thermal mass, insulation, heating, cooling, and
ventilation. Michael Reynolds, the author, has been designing and
building sustainable buildings around the world for over thirty years.
Based on this experience, the author uses architectural diagrams to
show how buildings can tap into the temperature of the earth and relate
to the angles of the sun. The book presents design variations from
extreme cold to extreme heat, and addresses wet and dry climate
considerations. Using examples of built Earthship designs, the author
shows application of the presented concepts through text, illustrations
and color photos. This book should be read by any person thinking of
building or buying a home. It is informative to architects, builders,
educators and any person interested in reducing their fossil fuel
consumption. Includes eleven pages of color photos and architectural
drawings that illustrate the beauty of buildings that passively heat
and cool themselves, without the use of fossil fuels. Imagine a home
that takes care of itself with no utility bills!
Earthship : Evolution Beyond
Economics
by Mike Reynolds
List Price:
$24.95
Our Price: $17.46
Part 1, Evolutions...Chapter 1; Structure: Concrete and rammed earth half
blocks. Aluminum can/ concrete bond beam and rebar pinned plates. Homemade
trusses. Cold area ground insulation. Tire retaining walls and wing walls.
Applications to steep land. New gutter details. Floors - mud and
flagstone. Finishing Earth cliffs. Hanging Earthship doors. Round and arch
windows. Homemade operable windows. Adding on a U module. Chapter 2;
Mechanical: Indoor water cisterns. Water Organizing Module (WOM) Interior,
Contained Greywater Treatment Planter, Power Organizing Modules (POM),
Back propane heater. Part 2, New Components & Concepts...Chapter 3,
Thermal Mass Refrigerator...Chapter 4, Solar Toilet...Chapter 5, Solar
Oven/Distiller and electric cook top...Chapter 6, Straw Bale Temporary
Structure...Chapter 7, Retrofit Applications, Part 3, Community & Urban
Concepts...Chapter 8; Exploring Community Concepts...Chapter 9; Urban
Earthships, Part 4, New Directions...Chapter 10; A Tire Building
Code...Chapter 11; Aluminum Can Dome Pods...Chapter 12; Climatic & Site
Adaptations...Chapter 13; The New Generics. This is a very good book
encompassing the Earthship theories.
Earthship : Systems and Components
by Michael Reynolds
List Price:
$24.95
Our Price: $17.46
Chapter 1,
Solar Electric Systems, The operation of a sailboat
requires an understanding of the concepts and schematics of sailing and knowing
the patterns and nature of the wind. There are many differences between the
operation of a gasoline powered speed boat and a wind powered sailboat. The
major difference is that in a sailboat you will never run out of gas. Other
differences involve pollution, noise, wear and tear, and repair of moving parts.
The differences between conventional electricity and solar electricity in a home
are similar to the difference between a speed boat and a sailboat. This chapter
will cover the concepts and schematics of solar electric systems for Earthships.
It will also discuss how to use a solar electric system relative to the patterns
and nature of the sun, as discussed in chapter 2 of Earthship Volume I. Little
attention will be given to specific wiring details, as these are covered in many
electrical wiring manuals already in print (see Appendix, Chapter 1). The
objective here is to provide the Earthship owner with an understanding of the
nature of solar electricity, how it is collected and stored, and how to live
with it. Chapter 2, Domestic Water Systems, In these times it is best to have
and to be in control of your own water supply. Most city, town and community
water systems (in addition to providing "questionable" water) are dependent on
electricity for obtaining and delivering water. This makes the water dependent
on commercial electricity. Commercial electricity looks unreliable for the
future even if you can overlook the devastation that producing centralized
commercial electricity brings. Therefore an Earthship must have its own water
systems. This chapter will cover ways of acquiring and delivering water that use
minimal or no electricity. As in the previous chapter the focus will be on the
methodology and concept in an attempt to establish a clear understanding of how
to get good water for domestic use. The equipment needed will be discussed but
actual installation of the equipment, which involves conventional plumbing and
mechanical skills, will be assumed to be within the grasp of local mechanical
contractors and other consultants. Chapter 3, Waste Water Systems, With the
given fact that water is becoming more and more precious due to careless
consumption, contamination, and sheer numbers of humans on the planet, we must
totally rethink what we do with waste water. The truth is there will be no such
thing as waste water. This chapter will cover methods and concepts involved in
recapturing and reusing all domestic water that is used in the dwelling. Chapter
4, Hot Water Systems, We have grown accustomed to the availability of all the
hot water we can use. Maybe it is time to look at the reality of how much hot
water we need. The Earthship Volumes are aimed at simple, comfortable survival
not luxurious American decadence. There are many ways to get endless amounts of
hot water for domestic purposes. There are but a few that are both economical
and appropriate when one considers the numbers of people and the current
condition of the planet in terms of extracted energy. Therefore, we will only
discuss the few simple methods of obtaining hot water that, after twenty years
of research in self-sufficient living, still look desirable both economically
and ecologically. As with the previous chapter, we will first present a method
of free hot water production which requires some personal changes of habit and
attitude, then a method that comes a little closer to what we are accustomed to
but is the lesser of the evils, so to speak. As for all the other methods of
obtaining endless amounts of hot water, there are other books. Chapter 5,
Lighting Systems, "And God said let there be light and there was light." Man
said, let there be light and there were nuclear power plants, ugly power lines
and radioactive waste. Lighting has become an expensive, (ecologically and
economically) energy consuming endeavor in conventional housing. The objectives
of Earthship lighting are to seriously reduce both expense and energy
requirements for providing domestic light. In many cases the reduction of energy
use has resulted in an increase in expense. This is because many of the new
solar electric products do not have a large enough market to bring down the
prices to a competitive and reasonable level. Another factor is that there are
so many direction to go in terms of lighting (AC versus DC, incandescent versus
fluorescent, etc.) and each direction has its own situation. The bottom line is
that, at this point, no standard, simple, inexpensive direction for lighting has
been established for solar dwellers. The purpose of this chapter, therefore,
will be to establish this direction and to present the concept and equipment for
simple, inexpensive "off the power grid" lighting. Chapter 6, Adobe Fireplace
components, Most houses are kept too warm ( at the expense of the owner and the
environment) by their various heating systems. It is much more healthy to keep
an interior environment just a bit on the cool side.
Earthship : How to Build Your Own
by Michael E. Reynolds
List
Price: $24.95
Our Price: $17.46
Chapter 1,
The Determining Factors of the Earthship Concept, This chapter will elaborate on
and develop the "independent vessel" concept as a necessary spark toward the
evolution of habitat on this planet. Chapter 2, Interfacing with local phenomena
Location In the Northern Hemisphere, moss grows on the north side of trees and
snow melts on the south side of mountains. If you want a log to float
downstream, you must place it in the current, not near the shore in an eddy.
Earthships must also be placed for optimum interaction with natural phenomena.
This chapter explores the natural phenomena of the planet and explains how to
interface an Earthship into the existing phenomena of the area. Chapter 3,
Following the directives of concept and natural phenomena Design Fast cars are
designed in wind tunnels, i.e. the wind dictates the design of the car.
Likewise, natural phenomena dictate the design of an Earthship. The design
schematic of existing Earthships is presented in this chapter as it relates to
local phenomena. Within these parameters, personal needs and desires are dealt
with. The issue of performance versus tradition is discussed from the
perspective of "Live simply so that others may simply live." Chapter 4, The
Skeleton of the vessel Structure Economy and availability to nonprofessional
builders are important determinants of an Earthship structure. This chapter
presents the simple structural integrity of existing prototype Earthships via
conceptual diagrams, photographs and three dimensional drawings. This structural
system is both designed and explained in terms to which the nonprofessional
builder can relate. Chapter 5, The Primary building blocks of the vessel
Materials The nature of the materials used to execute an Earthship design is
explored. The earth-rammed automobile tire is presented as the most appropriate
method for its strength, economy, lack of skill needed, and the fact that it
makes use of an otherwise discarded "natural resource." The aluminum beverage
can used as a masonry unit for filler walls is also presented for similar
reasons. Chapter 6, The details and skills used to build the "U" module The "U"
Module The fundamentals of how to build your own Earthship are presented here. A
well illustrated and explained collection of easy to learn skills, available to
all types of people of various strengths, shapes and sizes is presented. This
includes how to lay the rammed earth tires, how to lay the aluminum cans in
mortar, connections, mistakes commonly made, etc...
After you have dug your way through all of the information on "Earthships", and visited the "Natural Home - Archetara" website, and now wish to be your own...your on your way to a lifestyle that is ecologically sensible, practical, and sustainable. Hope you enjoyed the information.
