Modular Building System Plans

Energy conservation
Passive Annual Heat Storage
Fresh air, continuously comfortable environments
Environmentally-friendly habitation
Multi-use earth sheltering
Research data collection

Our earth sheltered building system has been designed to provide:

Passive Annual Heat Storage.
Convection-powered earth tube fresh air heat exchange.
3 bedroom, 1 bath, 2304 sq. ft. example full earth sheltered house plans.
Uses standard basement cement forms.
Reduced labor, requires only a crew of 2.
Easy directions to help your architect and structural engineer. (All buildings must be approved by a qualified engineer in your locality.)

          Our modular building system uses a standard 16' x 24' concrete module designed to hold 4 feet of earth load. The modules can be arranged in a variety of configurations in order to facilitate the construction of an infinite variety of earth sheltered structures. The example home shows how to interconnect the modules, and locate openings through the load-bearing walls between modules. It shows how to install Passive Annual Heat Storage so that the structure will automatically collect heat in the summer time by cooling the inside of the structure. In the winter, it returns that stored heat to maintain a comfortable temperature through out the year.

Practical modular earth sheltered combination suggestions:

• Homes
  
• Garages
  
• Shopping malls
  
• Community centers
  
• Structures for innovative survivalists.
  
• You name it.
  

Plans include:

3 copies of building system plans
Building module example for basic 16' x 24' concrete module
Interconnecting and construction details
Standardized openings that can be moved (within certain obvious constraints) to various locations in order to permit access between the modules.
Foundation and floor plans for example 2304 sq. ft. home, (without counting the garage)

1. Insulation/watershed umbrella
2. Umbrella attachments to the structure
3. Drainage and subterranean water control system
4. Thermal breaks

Three volume manual set:

          Complete instructions for organizing and arranging the modules into a variety of earth sheltered configurations. Plans and instructions for building the roof forms that go on top of the walls that have been poured using standard basement cement forms. Print out books from a sample Finite Element Analysis of the example structure.

Risk assessment:

          Passive Annual Heat Storage (PAHS) is an experimental system. That's why we do research, and collect data on the variety of structures being built. Our experience is, when the principles of Passive Annual Heat Storage, (as described in our publication: Passive Annual Heat Storage, Improving the Design of Earth Shelters) are applied, they work excellently. This is because the method is really just a simplified explanation of the laws of physics along with examples for their practical implementation. However, when the principles are violated... well, naturally things don't work quite as well as one might have hoped. Each of the structures built so far contain many "personalizations" that may enhance or degrade performance. Typically PAHS owners are quite pleased with the results. Many require little or no commercial energy to either heat or cool them.

          Structurally, the modular method is quite stout. However, the plans do not contain those modifications required to meet local conditions. A local structural engineer or architect must be used in order to customize the design for local conditions such as, earthquake zones, soil conditions, and local ordinances. Such professionals are also important in the building process because they provide the liability insurance required by most local laws.

          As our plans and publications are for educational purposes only, for you and your architect, builder, engineer, building inspector and whomever. The Rocky Mountain Research Center is not a builder, not an architectural firm, not an engineering firm. The Rocky Mountain Research Center is a nonprofit research and educational corporation only. It assumes no liability concerning these publications or any structures built using them. The Passive Annual Heat Storage and other associated methods are strictly experimental, and all responsibility for their use resets with the owners, builders, and other professionals associated with the actual construction. No guarantees, warrants, or other promises of any kind are provided.