Richard Balkins

I'll nip it in the butt on a few misinformed statements. First, you can use passive solar in virtually every environment between 56 degrees N. Latitude and 28 degrees N.L. and equally on the southern hemisphere. In fact, you can do so outside those boundaries. Since Earthships and Earthship-like homes and buildings would and could apply other passive solar systems. You must adapt the window aperture and thermal mess and in this case, you must also insulate to stop the effects of thermal bridging. Earthships and like homes are largely under earth grade, you must account for thermal bridging even more so than an above grade home with just footings in the ground.

You can not use the same size thermal mass and window aperture for Nevada and use it in Vermont or other similar locations. You have deep frost depth. Another technology I would recommend tapping into the use of is the use of ground source heat pumps (GSHP) or often call geothermal heating and cooling system. This uses the passive solar technology of using thermal mass of the Earth itself.  Since all this heat is permeated into the ground from the sun including deep heat that is also charged by solar energy that passes literally through the earth but you'll be pretty shallow depth so not useful for geothermal power. Do not confuse the two different kinds of geothermal. While based on the same concepts, they have dramatically different requirements.

To generate power, you need ground temperatures hot enough for water to practically turn to steam. This is unlikely what you'll ever find at an affordable level in Vermont. It would be cost prohibitive for a singular house in practice. Geothermal heating and cooling would be appropriate technology because it operates on the principle of heat exchange like how a refrigerator work. You can read up more on it. This combined with passive solar would keep things in good shape for your Earthship-like home.

You may require modifying the size of thermal mass and window aperture. If for a variety of reasons, you can not use the size windows and thermal mass that you would need due to client needs for year round, you may want to consider supplementing with geothermal heating and cooling.

John C Daley wrote:OK, I have to ask, what are CMU's?

Concrete masonry units.

Bryant RedHawk wrote:I believe that if you start replacing the thick tires (soil thickness not the tire thickness) then you are moving away from earthship design as I understand it.
As far as the reduction of issues, yes it would work better but it is not serving the function of re-purposing that the earthship was designed to do.
As far as the thermal mass, it would be able to have more thermal energy stored, thicker is better, black it the right color for thermal mass storage.

My understanding of the RMH is that the heat comes through the exaust pipe (flue) so I don't think you could run one RMH to heat an entire floor area, perhaps two to three would be needed.

Redhawk

Personally, I would use stone masonry and maybe other resources that are natural. While it might not be a "Michael Reynold's" earthship. I'm not Michael Reynolds. I may adapt the design or concept for use of earth, gravel, dirt, and stone masonry where possible. Partly due to my locality, the prevalence of basalt that can either be quarried or otherwise sourced locally. It gives the load capacity. In cases, I may use gabions. I commend those to recycle which is fine. As a building designer, I make the determination for the given project. While it might not be purist approach from the Michael Reynolds sense of purist, I may still use the term "Earthship" with some degree of deviation from the purist sense but within limits of natural and sustainable low carbon footprint ethos.

While tires maybe fine, there can be real world apprehension for using tires in some places where I can use stone masonry (not masonary) or reinforced stone masonry from a structural design and aesthetic perspective. If you have a hillside site location, you have to plan for retaining wall capacity.

One guiding principle is the use of earth-based materials that are natural or near natural state and requires little to no carbon footprint. Concrete, albeit is earth based, is made through a process with high carbon footprint. Masonry from stone can be dry stacked, if done well, can be pinned/reinforced, as well as well as survive seismic events. Look to our Inca friends. The hardest part is the labor involved but it was done without the modern factory process or use of kilns or other processes that contributes to carbon emission into the atmosphere.