Earthships: Hippy dream or viable green alternative?

Solar panels are becoming an increasingly familiar sight on houses as people seek a more energy-efficient way of heating, cooling and powering their homes, but very few homes use solar energy as their main power source. Even fewer still are built out of old tyres, bottles and cans, but what may seem like a hippy dream to many is turning into a genuine green alternative for some.

Renewable Energy

The first Earthships were designed and created by architect Mike Reynolds in the 1970s, who wanted to create a home that met three requirements: it should be sustainable, using recycled materials and other materials which could be found anywhere, it should rely on natural energy sources, and it should be economically feasible for the average person with no specialized construction skills. For the building materials, Reynolds chose old tyres which are packed with dirt for the main walls. Not only have these proven to be strong, insulating and surprisingly fire-resistant, but the raw materials are pretty much ubiquitous. Other walls may be constructed using bottles and cans set in concrete, adobe or sand, which can absorb solar heat throughout the day and release it during the night.

The main energy sources are solar and wind power, collected using photovoltaic panels and wind turbines. Not only did Reynolds want the energy sources to be sustainable and, as far as possible, non-polluting, he also sought energy that was less susceptible to natural disasters and free from the electrical and water lines that he considered unsightly and wasteful. Anybody living in an urban area surrounded by power wires can surely relate. It is possible, using these energy sources in an Earthship, to power most modern appliances, including TVs, computers, washing machines and dryers. Living naturally need not mean lving like cavemen, it seems. Aside from electricity, the other resource that we tend to use the most of - many would argue that we waste it - is water. As Reynolds wanted his Earthships to be independent from centralized sources, water is harvested from rain, snow and condensation. The water is filtered and used for drinking water and bathing and, to ensure minimal wastage, water from bathing (so-called 'greywater') can also be reused for other purposes such as watering plants or for a toilet - if the Earthship is not using a composting toilet.

Aesthetics

It has to be said that an Earthship would not exactly go unnoticed on your average street, which is perhaps why most of them have been built in areas of low population density; although that could have as much to do with their owners' desires to be free of suburbia. If the tyres are left uncovered on the outside walls, your energy-efficient, ecologically-sound abode may look as if you've thrown it together by scavenging local dumps which, in some cases, may not be far from the truth. All is not lost, however, as an Earthship is as customizable as you want it to be and, as the photograph at the top of the article shows, a little imagination and thought can produce the kind of house that architects like Antoni Gaudi or Friedensreich Hundertwasser would be proud of. Who knows, they may become a more common sight as the price of oil continues to rise and nuclear power continues to be controversial. One thing is for sure, word is spreading: Earthships are not confined to a few hippies in the New Mexico widerness, as they have been built in England, Scotland, France, South Africa and Swaziland.

They may have their drawbacks, but Earthships could just become the house of the future.

For more information: http://earthship.org/

Richard Knobbs