Earth Integration and Thermal Mass (for Global Energy Use Reduction)

Abstract

As the rest of the world under development catches up economically with the developed nations, adoption of western tastes is projected to lead to enormous increases in energy use. Specifically, air conditioning use within countries with low saturation rates and high cooling degree rates (India and China) have a potential demand of up to 5 times that of the U.S. market. This growth in HVAC (Heating Ventilation&Air Conditioning) means billions of tons of increased carbon dioxide emissions and trillions of dollars in investment in electricity generation and transmission infrastructure.If there is adoption of Earth sheltering and integration design within these geographical areas, then it might be possible to mitigate the need for such high increase in electricity demand.Ultimately, an estimate of how much quantifiable impact wide adoption of earth integration can have in the regions in question needs to be calculated and compared to projected energy demand if things continue as they are. To do so, parameters need to be determined to see how much of the future air conditioning demand can be met through thermal mass/earth integration. That is, how much future energy demand can be avoided through earth sheltering? To do so:1-Determine what areas account for the greatest projected demand in future air conditioning use.2-See how much of the projected demand can be met through Thermal Mass and Earth Integration (T.M./E.I.) within these areas.3-A design/energy modeling exercise showing proper use and implementation of Earth sheltering within our local climate will be carried out to prove effectiveness of varied strategic thermal mass applications.4-Compare the relative savings of different levels of Earth Integration to arrive at an average overall savings if universal adoption takes place.Top-down approach to energy savings (HVAC efficiency) is not enough to offset projected adoption and its impact on the local and global environments. Energy efficient design is necessary to deal with as much of the increase in projected demand as possible. The use of earth as a building material can be a powerful tool in the fight against increasing energy demands and accompanied destructive environmental effects and needs greater consideration and adoption.