Earthships from Outerspace! : Thunderbay IMC

I admit that at first this sounds like some unlikely utopia or worse, just hollow marketing. It might be viable if you live in sunny Mexico, but certainly not in the sub-zero Northern Ontario. However, by visiting a couple of Earthships in northern parts of southern Ontario (with climates very similar to Thunder Bay) I've discovered that with the right design and a very modest start-up fund, this dream is well within reach.

Chuck and Pat Potter of Gilmour, Ontario were the first people in the province to build an Earthship. The environmental activists were inspired to explore the Earthship concept when Pat reviewed Michael Renald's book for CBC. She and Chuck proceded to take a weekend workshop put on by Renald's himself in Taos, Mexico and spent a few nights sleeping in a tire house to get the full experience.

In 1995, they started building on their 40 acre lot and by winter of '96 the Potters were moved in. Although the house was unfinished at this point (the floor was still just dirt) it was already much warmer than their cabin beside it.

The basis of design for these passive-solar self-heating homes requires the entire southern wall to be made up of windows. Typically the houses are much longer than they are wide, so that all or most of the rooms are open to the south. As the sun shines in, it not only heats the house immediately, but the thick earthen walls absorb enough heat to maintain a temperature no cooler than 15 C in it's absence, even in -30 C climates! The Guinness book of World Records lists Earthships as the most energy efficient homes in the world.

Chuck describes conventional houses as "insulated iceboxes that need a constant supply of heat". The Potters have no heat source besides the sun, only a wood stove used for cooking that contributes minimally to the overall heat, but is nice to huddle around on cooler evenings and can be used as back-up in case of a long cloudy period.

In the summer time the house remains cool as the sun stays higher in the sky so that less direct sunlight enters the windows. The thick walls again provide insulation but this time in order to keep the cold air in. Typically the north side of Earthships are buried into a hill for added insulation, providing the same underground cool as a basement, but without the darkness due to the brightly lit southern side.

Blinds are another simple device that can be used to help moderate the amount of sunlight/heat in the summer and further insulate again the cold when the sun is down in the winter. Even without blinds the temperature of the Potter's house is well regulated, but the addition of blinds will boost its efficiency even further and is slated as their next major purchase.

Tire houses are designed to have fully functioning plumbing without depending on a septic tank or city sewage system. All waste products are completely recycled so there is no disposal in soil or water anywhere. This is accomplished through dry compost toilets and greywater systems.

Dry compost toilets break down human waste odourlessly into nutrient rich hummus that can fertilize your garden. This can be done with the an extremely efficient species of worm known as the Red Worm (Lumbricus rubellus), or as the Potters have done, simply by purchasing a commercial compost toilet which mixes the waste with a dry organic material such as peat moss so that it breaks down quickly.

The greywater system fits into an Earthship's design as a greenhouse style garden running along the south windows. Waste water from the shower and sinks is run straight into the soil and is purified by plants, then further filtered though layers of gravel and pebbles. Water can then be pumped back as fresh washing water, although in the Potter's case it is just used to feed the garden.

Greywater plants range from tropical flowers to hearty vegetables and almost anything can be produced in any climate. The Potters' greywater garden is currently filled with Jasmine, Palm trees, Geraniums, Vines, Avocado trees, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. They have had success with many other plants including tomatoes, beans, potatoes, and carrots.

All electricity, which the Potters are very conscious about conserving, is produced by solar panels. Lighting is only needed once the sun has set and they use minimal appliances. With a little creativity, there are even ways around high energy consuming appliances such as refrigerators. The Potters designed a fridge constructed out of an old motorless freezer that operates solely on air exchange. A small, solar-powered fan brings in cool night air while a top vent lets the warmer air escape. This device does the trick from fall through spring, while an energy efficient solar refrigerator is needed for the hot summers.

Construction of this self-sustaining system is easier than one would think. A simple concrete slab is all that is required for a foundation. Tires are stacked and rammed full of the same earth dug out of the hill it is sited in. Pop cans may be added as filler. The final layer which completely covers all the tires and cans (preventing any toxins from ever penetrating) can be a cement or clay stucco. The Potters chose cement for its longer life, greater durability and easily mixed consistency, although some prefer a purist approach to the use of natural materials and stick with clay.

Pat and Chuck put in most of the human-power themselves. Their involvement of volunteers was more to share knowledge and experience than to boost productivity, as the training period was typically equal to the amount of time spent working. Pat strongly advocates building yourself noting that "people are afraid to build their own [Earthship] and end up paying as much as for a conventional home." Chuck adds that if you build it yourself you understand how to repair everything.

Chuck averaged about 15 minutes per tire and 15 tires per day, while Pat took the lead with shoveling dirt into buckets and wheelbarrowing it over. They discovered that the best technique was to kick the dirt into the side of the tire before pounding the rest of the 5 buckets per tire in with an 18 pound sledge hammer.

The tires were acquired from local mechanic shops and the Potters were paid $1 for each one they took away, though they were delivered to their door by the mechanic. Their 2300 sq ft home was built with 1200 tires, meaning they received $1200 for "disposing of" these useful building materials!

The Potters spent a total of $40 000 on the construction of their house, solar panels included. They were able to avoid taking out a mortgage and estimate that a small one bedroom Earthship could be built for only $10 000.

For those with access to greater funds or who want to build an energy efficient home but feel this example is a bit too rustic, Hilary Houstoun and Raymond Lefebvre have built a more contemporary Earthship in a county called Lanark about an hour outside of Ottawa.
Their approx 1800 sq foot home cost around the same as building a standard North American house, but is far more energy efficient and completely off the grid.

The couple took periods of time off work intermittently to gradually build the house themselves over a period of 8 years and have been gardening on their land for the past 7. This is the first winter they are living in their house and although the final stucco has not been applied to the earthen walls, the hardwood floors, tall windows, and modern kitchen complete with microwave give the house a decidedly modern feel.

Hilary and Ray's tire home is powered completely by solar including their European style water heater which heats water as needed instead of constantly fueling it. At night the whole system is shut down so as not to waste any energy.

Passive solar contributes to heating their home but a wood stove is needed to supplement it during the winter months. The couple explains that this is largely a result of building the ceiling too high, so that much of the hot air rises out of useful range. They recommend to future builders that a lower ceiling is preferable, however they do have a cozy loft area that takes advantage of the elevated heat and believe that once they install thermal blinds over the windows they will conserve much more heat.

A conventional bathroom may be a preference for some, but often it is just the result of restrictive by-laws. Hilary and Ray would have preferred to go with a dry compost toilet but the land laws in their area require them to have a septic tank. They have left space for a grey water garden and plan to run their shower, sink, and eventually laundry water into it.

Hilary and Ray had no problem getting approval for meeting building code thanks to the pioneer work of Pat and Chuck. The Ministry of housing initially refused the Potters a permit, but had no leg to stand on as building inspectors appraised the earthship design as exceeding all code. In fact, one inspector from Niagara described their Earthship as having "the strongest walls I've ever seen" and predicted that "they will be standing in 1000 years". The concrete covered walls qualify as fireproof and in the U.S. earthships are designated earthquake-proof.

The obstacle Hilary and Raymond did encounter was getting house insurance (which is only a requirement if you have a mortgage). It took the couple 5 years to find that the only company who would cover them was a farmer's co-operative, and even this cost twice the average price.

Another limitation is the almost exclusively rural location of Earthships as most municipal bylaws and building codes do not permit alternative building techniques let alone houses that do not rely on city sewage and power. However as more alternative buildings spring up around the world providing living examples of their effectiveness, laws can slowly be revised. Already there are over 18 earthships in Ontario alone, while both environmental and economic motivations are drawing new interest all the time.

Chuck Potter's advice to novice builders is simple: read books, learn, take a year off to build, and you're set for life!

Micheal Renald's site http://earthship.org/
The Potters' Page http://sunspace.org/en/en-b-mainpotterpage.html
Toronto Star article deeming Earthships Toxic
http://www.sunspace.org/en/en-b-letter1.html
Pat Potter's Rebuttal
http://www.sunspace.org/en/en-b-letter2.html

The water from the kitchen sink feeds this garden of Avocado, Palm, Jasmine and herbs.

This Garden filters the shower water with mostly Geraniums, Jasmine and Vines.

Chuck is a photographer and has established a gallery in the cabin beside the house. This picture adorns the wall of Pat's office.

A friend of Pat's spontaneously sculpted this into the back wall of her office as they worked on the final coat. I had the privledge of sleeping right beneath it in this cosy cot when I visited!