Consists of a building within a building.
Outer shell utilizes passive design with a lot of south facing glass.
Inner shell also utilizes passive design and has a backup heating system.
North, south and roof planes make up two separate layers, East and west walls are single super insulated walls.
Underground spaces are provided to connect in the north to south direction
Originally meant to generate a convective loop around the building but experiments show that some stagnation occurs.
Fairly good performance occurs anyways due to the ground temperature.
Earth Sheltered
Partially sunken into the earth, bermed or totally underground.
benefit of the earth is not insulation but is actually the tremendous thermal mass.
Frost line, below which never experiences freezing temperatures
There are much milder temperatures experienced closer to the year round averages of a given location.
Increased structural costs
Waterproofing is critical and more expensive and almost impossible to repair.
Benefits: increased security, durability, privacy, decreased maintenance
time: 0.5, 9:25-9:55, 6/14/09
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