People are becoming more attracted to the concept of sustainable homes as humanity is being bombarded by the economy, Covid-19, as well as the increasing frequency of climate disasters and fear and uncertainty around the war in Ukraine.
The rise of sustainable building methods might make you think twice before building your next home.
Here are 3 sustainable houses that you've never heard of that could revolutionize the construction industry.
1. Earthship
An earthship is an eco-friendly, sustainable and zero utility bills house that makes use of nonpolluting, renewable energy sources and smart design to meet heating, cooling, and power needs.
To be considered an earthship the building must use natural and re-purposed materials, thermal or solar heating and cooling, get electricity from solar and wind energy, harvest and reuse rainwater, have its own contained sewage treatment, and enable owners to grow or produce their food onsite.
An earthship's primary building material is recycled car tyres filled with compacted earth and cardboard (to act as a plug for the earth). The tyres are stacked like bricks and covered in adobe mud to make up the main part of each earthship. This method of building has proven to be extremely strong, to the extent of being earthquake, hurricane, tornado and flood resistant. From here, other recycled materials such as aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles are used in other building processes. Aluminum cans and plastic bottles are used to help make structural foundations such as walls, and plastic bottles are used to help make structures such as greenhouses. Multi-coloured bottles are used to create the appearance of stained glass windows, as well as for underground insulation.
Captured rainwater and snow-melt is initially used for bathing, washing dishes, or to complete the laundry, before being filtered through the houses water system and pumped into the toilet water storage tank. Once used in the toilet, the water can then be diverted to feed a garden or plants.
In an earthship, it is typical that an indoor food forest has been designed to utilize windows and turn the house into a giant greenhouse. Sun enters through the glass in the house and heats the floors and walls. In the evening, when the air temperature drops, heat stored in the walls naturally releases, keeping the house warm. In warmer months, buried cooling tubes and vent boxes create natural ventilation flows throughout the house and help it stay cool.
In place of traditional electricity, an earthship has its own renewable power sources, which include the use of solar panels and inverters, as well as wind energies.
An earthship is a true life raft, but also a comfortable home, with all the amenities needed to address daily living.
2. Modern House Bus
Tiny homes have been well documented, but a type of tiny home on wheels that has not is a house bus. A house bus is a bus ranging from 23ft to 45ft that has been converted into a home. Due to space restrictions, a house bus provides a minimalist lifestyle which is focused on what's needed for daily living (with a few luxuries such as a television and coffee machine added in).
For many, the house bus life provides enough space to live comfortably and self-sufficiently, while having the ability to move without a determined travel time.
The conversion process includes tasks such as engine upgrades, gutting, insulating and lining the inside of the bus, flooring, raising the roof, repainting, installing solar panels plus an inverter, and kitchen, bathroom, & furniture installations.
For DIY enthusiasts who have the necessary skills and are up for the challenge, converting a house bus is a great alternative to the soaring costs of a newly built home, secondhand RV's, or even a newly built tiny home, with big savings on offer. For those who see building as out of their reach and are stuck in the rent trap, paying unaffordable weekly bills and getting locked into precarious tenancies, converting a house bus could be the way to sustainable freedom.
For as little as $40,000 (including the purchasing of a bus, a solar system and tools) a house bus can be converted into a home.
Compare that to an average of $150,000NZD for a comparable tiny home, $225,000NZD for a secondhand A class RV, and $455,000NZD for a new house and it's clear to see that for many, a house bus feels like an only option.
As for ongoing costs, according to The Modern Housebus by Kimberley Mok, life in a house bus is a lot cheaper. In fact it's as cheap as $400 per month for outgoing bills. Less floor space means less time and money spent on cleaning and maintenance, meaning there's more time and money to spend on the things that bring joy to life. As a house bus can be classified as a vehicle, there's no rates, as well as having solar power, and if parked on a piece of land that's owned, or for owners who have itchy feet and keep their house bus constantly on the move, there's no rent or land rent, vastly reducing monthly bills. To put it another way, the amount you’re paying for a years worth of rent could pay for a house bus conversion.
To counteract the lack of floor space, many out of the box space saving ideas from tiny homes, one-bedroom flats and other small dwellings have been incorporated into house buses, as they all have a very similar layouts to a house bus. Some examples of these include; storage under the couch, for house buses with a loft, storage under the staircase, and a bookcase that doubles as a door.
With a wonderful inside, outside flow, the ability to see the beauty of our country, the freedom, independence, control, security of owning your own home, and that home following you to wherever it's parked, #buslife is the new #tinyhome.
3. Rammed Earth House
A rammed earth house blends technology and wisdom from as long ago as 8000BC, reinvigorated in the 16th century, and presently reintroduced and combined with modern engineering practices to cater to the demands of environmental sustainability.
This building method sources raw materials such as sand, clay, water, and a stabilizer (usually lime/cement) to create a balanced damp sub soil mix.
To begin with, a local source of material is found, whether owned land or a local quarry and a soil evaluation is taken out to determine if the right mix of sand and clay is available (the ideal ration being 60:40) to build at the highest standard and keep as light a carbon footprint as possible. Care needs to be taken to make sure organics such as grass, sticks, and leaves are not included by removing the topsoil first. Once the 60:40 ratio has been found, a 10% comparative amount of portland cement is added. With a tiller, all materials are mixed together thoroughly. Once done, a trench is created in the middle of the mix and water added until a lightly moist ball can be made, and if dropped from chest height will explode when it impacts the ground, then the mixture is ready to use.
Depending on budget and choice of building method, the mix is either mechanically rammed between two parallel plywood frames that are then removed after the earth has cured, revealing a completed section of compressed earth wall, or earthen blocks are formed by adding the soil mix into the hopper of a commercial pressing machine, turning the mix into compressed blocks, which after curing for 24-48hrs are then used to build walls.
A rammed earth house has a reduced carbon footprint of 50%+ compared to many conventional built houses. This is due to the use of materials that are as natural and eco-friendly as possible. Also due to the use of these materials, rammed earth walls are permeable, meaning they absorb and transfer heat, cold, and moisture.
With 30%+ saving on heating & cooling, and a constant relative humidity of between 45-55%, rammed earth houses create a stable indoor environment that is good for health and bank balance.
Rammed earth walls are built to last hundreds, if not thousands of years, with minimal maintenance needed. Over the long life cycle of a rammed earth house, the impact these buildings have on the environment and on a owners finances are dramatically reduced.
Rammed earth walls provide a visually appealing combination of natural tones, textural layering and structural simplicity. With good design, these features are enhanced, ensuring house owners live in comfort and style.
Sustainable housing is no longer a futuristic concept, but a present reality. With the growing need for eco-friendly and energy-efficient living spaces, innovative designers and architects are pushing the boundaries of sustainable construction. From energy-efficient underground dwellings, to houses on wheels, and homes made entirely of recycled materials, these three examples show that sustainable housing can be beautiful, functional, and affordable. As we continue to tackle the global climate crisis, sustainable housing will become increasingly important, and we can look forward to even more innovative designs in the future.
Comments