Imagine highly energy-efficient homes that use natural insulation, are resistant to whatever the weather throws at them and blend in with the surrounding landscape, even in areas of outstanding beauty. These are underground homes.
The Earth’s temperature below the surface is stable because the ground absorbs and stores large amounts of heat. Just a few dozen centimetres below the surface, the temperature is remarkably stable, even between summer and winter. That means subterranean homes stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter and have the potential to save about 80% in energy costs.
Energy bills can be reduced even further by incorporating renewable heat sources from solar panels and heat pumps. Natural daylight can be channelled with skylights or by using light atriums, shafts and wells. An added benefit of being underground is noise insulation, making subterranean homes exceptionally quiet places to live.
This is no fantasy idea. There are many underground homes in various parts of the world, although relatively few in the UK, partly because of a misconception that subterranean living is dark and dank. Modern underground homes all use well-designed ventilation systems to control indoor air quality and humidity.
Living underground might not be for everyone, but as summers grow hotter, it has the potential to provide an alternative approach to low-carbon living.
