alt.energy.homepower

On Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:57:36 -0400, Neon John wrote:

>But going underground is probably the single largest improvement that you can make.
>HVAC becomes trivial when the outside conditions remain in the ~55 deg range.

I don't believe that. First, it won't be 55 in most locations. A
neighbor tried it, and it's not nearly as cool as he expected. I'm
thinking that his surrounding ground temperature (N AZ) is probably
about 75 in summer. It's a fairly small space, and once he's in it
with some appliances, surveillance monitors (yes, plural) ... Second,
additional construction costs will eat up most if not all the savings.
Third, living underground is weird. I visited one once that I liked -
central dome lit courtyard-style living room, surrounding rooms had
windows to the courtyard. But my wife wouldn't even consider the idea.
Even though the owners had done a great job trying to mitigate the
bunker feel, it was still there loud and clear. I'd bet that if
everyone lived underground, there'd be a lot more depression etc. It's
the polar opposite of thoughtful planning that aims to encourage
neighborliness, sense of community, etc. Boy howdy it sure is
attractive to the survivalists though - "Over here are my cases of
ramen, this is where I store my ammo, these are my water barrels..."
:-)

Wayne