We built our own house, this 46'-8" diameter geodesic dome. It's 1860 SF, and the surface is copper-colored Reinke aluminum shakes.
In mid-2009, I added up the electric bills from our first year of living in the dome. At just under 11 cents per kilowatt hour, we spent $1196 for 10,930 kwh, or an average of $99.66/month for 911 kwh. That's within pennies of the U.S. average electric bill, but most houses in a 6,550 Heating Degree Day climate also have a gas bill. We didn't burn any natural gas, oil, wood, propane, coal, corn, alcohol, or anything else for heat. It was all electric, typically one of the more expensive ways to heat. I suspect a lot of it went to the water heater.
The coldest six months averaged $128 for 1308 kwh/month, and the warmest six months averaged $71 for 514 kwh/month. If you compare the heat-using half of the year with the no-heat half by cost, it suggests that we spent $343 on electrical space heating for the year.
The front door and driveway:
The living room:
The kitchen wall:
The loft in art gallery mode:
Marcia hand-glazed tiles and installed them behind the kitchen sink and in the shower:
A wall of shelves in my studio:
Marcia's studio:
Coneflowers, hibiscus, and zinnias in the garden:
Here's a page about the earlier stages of the
This is every picture that
has appeared on the dome page over the past several years, with the recent ones at the end:
47footer8t.gif,
backdoor.jpg,
backdoorinside.jpg,
bathceiling1.jpg,
bathdoor.jpg,
bathpaint.jpg,
bathskylight.jpg,
bedroom1.jpg,
bedroom2.jpg,
bedroomlight.jpg,
bookshelf1.jpg,
brceiling1.jpg,
cabinets1.jpg,
casementdormer1.jpg,
casementdormer2.jpg,
casementdormers.jpg,
casementdormers2.jpg,
ceilingdrywall1.jpg,
ceilingfan1.jpg,
christo.jpg,
corners.jpg,
daisies.jpg,
dormers.jpg,
dormers2.jpg,
dormers3.jpg,
dormers4.jpg,
dormers5.jpg,
dormers6.jpg,
drywall01.jpg,
drywall02.jpg,
drywall03.jpg,
drywall04.jpg,
drywall05.jpg,
drywall06.jpg,
drywallhingesequence.jpg,
ductwork1.jpg,
erv1.jpg,
fisheye.jpg,
fisheye2.jpg,
flashing.jpg,
flashing2.jpg,
foam01.jpg,
foam02.jpg,
foundationfoam.jpg,
foundationfoam2.jpg,
foundationplywood.jpg,
fox.jpg,
fridge.jpg,
frontdoor.jpg,
frontdoor2.jpg,
frontdoor3.jpg,
frontdoor4.jpg,
frontdoor5.jpg,
frontdoor6.jpg,
frontdoor7.jpg,
frontdoor8.jpg,
frontdoor9.jpg,
frontdoorinside.jpg,
garden01.jpg,
garden02.jpg,
garden03.jpg,
gladiolas1.jpg,
gnomehome.jpg,
gothicarch1.jpg,
gothicarch2.jpg,
gothicarch3.jpg,
halfmoon1.jpg,
halfmoon2.jpg,
interior01.jpg,
irises.jpg,
joists1.jpg,
lightningrod.jpg,
loft1.jpg,
loftdrywall1.jpg,
loftdrywall2.jpg,
loftplywood1.jpg,
loftplywood2.jpg,
loftstuds1.jpg,
lowwintersun.jpg,
lrclutter.jpg,
marciastudio01.jpg,
marciastudio02.jpg,
meterbase.jpg,
meterbasepanel.jpg,
mirror.jpg,
mstudiopanorama.jpg,
mstudiopanorama2.jpg,
night1.jpg,
northskylightframe1.jpg,
orangewall.jpg,
orangewall2.jpg,
orangewall3.jpg,
panels01.jpg,
panels02.jpg,
panels03.jpg,
panels04.jpg,
panels05.jpg,
panels06.jpg,
panels07.jpg,
panels08.jpg,
panels09.jpg,
paulsgarage.jpg,
pentwindow.jpg,
pex.jpg,
plumbing1.jpg,
primer1.jpg,
pvc.jpg,
r2d2.jpg,
r2d2towel.jpg,
rebar.jpg,
riserfoam.jpg,
riserfoamcorners.jpg,
riserplywood.jpg,
riserplywood2.jpg,
riserprimed.jpg,
risershield.jpg,
risershieldsouth.jpg,
rooftop01.jpg,
rooftop02.jpg,
roomstaped.jpg,
sheathing1.jpg,
sheathing2.jpg,
sheathing3.jpg,
sheathing4inside.jpg,
sheathing5.jpg,
shelves1.jpg,
shelves2.jpg,
shelves3.jpg,
shinglenorth01.jpg,
shinglenorth02.jpg,
shinglenorth03.jpg,
shinglenorth04.jpg,
shinglenorth05.jpg,
shinglenorth06.jpg,
shinglenorth07.jpg,
shinglenorth08.jpg,
shinglenorth09.jpg,
shinglenorth10.jpg,
shinglenorth11.jpg,
shinglenorth12.jpg,
shinglenorth13.jpg,
shinglenorth14.jpg,
shinglenorth15.jpg,
shinglenorth16.jpg,
shinglenorth17.jpg,
shinglesouth01.jpg,
shinglesouth02.jpg,
shinglesouth03.jpg,
shinglesouth04.jpg,
shinglesouth05.jpg,
shinglesouth06.jpg,
shinglesouth07.jpg,
shinglesouth08.jpg,
shinglesouth09.jpg,
shinglesouth10.jpg,
shinglesouth11.jpg,
shinglesouth12.jpg,
shinglesouth13.jpg,
shinglesouth14.jpg,
shinglesouth15.jpg,
shinglesouth16.jpg,
shinglesouth17.jpg,
shower1.jpg,
shower2.jpg,
shower3.jpg,
shower4.jpg,
shower5.jpg,
shower6.jpg,
shower7.jpg,
shower8.jpg,
showertiles.jpg,
slab.jpg,
springflower.jpg,
springtulips.jpg,
stevestudio01.jpg,
stevestudio02.jpg,
stevestudio03.jpg,
straw.jpg,
struts1.jpg,
struts2.jpg,
struts3.jpg,
struts4.jpg,
struts5.jpg,
struts6.jpg,
tomatoes1.jpg,
tracklights.jpg,
trench.jpg,
triangle.jpg,
tub1.jpg,
vaproshield.jpg,
vaproshield2.jpg,
vaproshield3.jpg,
vaproshield4.jpg,
viktorsdome.jpg,
waterheaterwall.jpg,
shed01.jpg,
shed02.jpg,
shed03.jpg,
shed04.jpg,
shed05.jpg,
shed06.jpg,
shed07.jpg,
shed08.jpg,
shed09.jpg,
shed10.jpg,
shed11.jpg,
shed12.jpg,
shed13.jpg,
shed14.jpg,
shed15.jpg,
shed16.jpg,
shed17.jpg,
shed18.jpg,
shed19.jpg,
shed20.jpg,
shed21.jpg,
shed22.jpg,
driveway3.jpg,
dryervent.jpg,
livingroom01.jpg,
stairs01.jpg,
stairs02.jpg,
stairs03.jpg,
stairs04.jpg,
stairs05.jpg,
stairs06.jpg,
stairs07.jpg,
glassblock01.jpg,
glassblock02.jpg,
glassblock03.jpg,
glassblock04.jpg,
flag.jpg,
driveway4.jpg,
table.jpg,
pillows.jpg,
loftdrywall1.jpg,
loftdrywall2.jpg,
loftdrywall3.jpg,
loftdrywall4.jpg,
loftdrywall5.jpg,
amaryllis1.jpg,
amaryllis2.jpg,
utilityroom1.jpg,
pantry1.jpg,
pantry2.jpg,
loftdrywall6.jpg,
halfbath01.jpg,
glassblock05.jpg,
stairs08.jpg,
pantry3.jpg,
glassblock06.jpg,
halfbath02.jpg,
pantry4.jpg,
desk1.jpg,
amaryllis3.jpg,
utilityroom2.jpg,
halfbath03.jpg,
livingroom02.jpg,
doortrim1.jpg,
doortrim2.jpg,
iris1.jpg,
ledgercover.jpg,
frontdeck1.jpg,
tulips01.jpg,
frontdeck2.jpg,
halfbath04.jpg,
iris2.jpg,
battens01.jpg,
campanella1.jpg,
roses01.jpg,
battens02.jpg,
lights1.jpg,
lilies01.jpg,
battens03.jpg,
railing1.jpg,
skylightshade.jpg,
groundhog.jpg,
railing2.jpg,
kitchen01.jpg,
hotairballoon.jpg,
watermelon1.jpg,
kitchentile1.jpg,
kitchentile2.jpg,
watermelon2.jpg,
kitchentile3.jpg,
kitchentile4.jpg,
pumpkin2009.jpg,
doortrim3.jpg,
loftfloor1.jpg,
loftfloor2.jpg,
loftskylight1.jpg,
amaryllis4.jpg,
deerhead1.jpg,
livingroom03.jpg,
loftfloor3.jpg,
loftfloor4.jpg,
amaryllis5.jpg,
railing3.jpg,
frogspeakers.jpg,
frogspeaker.jpg,
galepix1.jpg,
galepix2.jpg,
galepix1.jpg,
galepix2.jpg,
handrails.jpg,
amaryllis6.jpg,
blackeyedsusans1.jpg,
hibiscus1.jpg,
marmoleumSteve1.jpg,
crocuses1.jpg,
SteveStudio03.jpg,
marmoleumLR01.jpg,
marmoleumLR02.jpg,
kitchen03.jpg,
daffodils01.jpg,
irises2.jpg,
marmoleumLR03.jpg,
mantisegg.jpg,
pavers1.jpg,
marmoleumLR04.jpg,
marmoleumcloset1.jpg,
livingroom04.jpg,
strawberry1.jpg,
irises3.jpg,
johnnyjumpups1.jpg,
daisies.jpg,
lilies02.jpg,
lilies03.jpg,
lilies04.jpg,
lilies05.jpg,
frogspeakers3.jpg,
So why a superinsulated dome? I've always loved the looks of domes and
the feel of their interior space. The fact that they're stronger and offer less wind resistance
was also a factor because we're in tornado country. Domes typically survive tornados
and hurricanes that destroy an area's rectangular houses.
As far as energy efficiency, a sphere encloses maximum volume with minimum surface,
so for a given volume of space a dome will have less surface area through which to lose heat.
Some of the dome's volume may be inaccessible, but it's still like getting beautiful
high ceilings with no energy cost penalty.
We used the
Add enough insulation to a well-sealed house and you eventually reach a point where
ambient heat sources are enough to keep the place warm. That's the basic idea behind superinsulation.
Houses are full of electric lights, appliances, computers, VCRs, people, pets -- all of them throwing off heat.
South windows let in warmth from the sun. In a conventional house, all these sources are
trivial compared to how much heat is pouring out the walls. A superinsulated house
loses heat so slowly that these incidental heat sources are enough to keep the place
comfortable much of the year. The amount of extra heat needed in winter is so small that
it's cheaper to heat with electricity than to install, maintain, and periodically replace a furnace.
When building the superinsulated house, the cost of the extra insulation and airtightness
can be at least partially offset by the savings from not having to include a furnace
or a complex heat distribution system. Because the house is so well
sealed, a heat-recovery ventilator is a good idea. That's a device which uses heat
from the outgoing stale air to warm up the incoming fresh air. The most efficient models
also capture latent heat from humidity and are known as energy-recovery ventilators.
I opted for spray-in-place polyurethane foam insulation because it has
around twice the
Here's an interesting
comparison of fiberglass and urethane
from Monolithic Dome Institute. This article convinced me to spend the extra money
on foam, though I definitely question their conclusion that 3" to 5"
is the most anyone would ever need. Monolithic domes generally still require conventional
heating systems, and with more insulation I believe that wouldn't be the case.
Foam hasn't always been the most environmentally-friendly building material,
but that's starting to change. It no longer uses gases that are damaging to the ozone layer.
Earth Foam, the brand we used, is made largely from castor beans. In any case, I'm comfortable
using a few petroleum-based materials in the construction phase if it means having a house
that comes close to staying warm on its own after that. Many otherwise-green buildings
still consume conventional amounts of natural gas every winter, year after year, forever.
Which house is greener over the long haul? I'd say it's the one with all that foam in
the walls and no chimney.
"Call it the groove factor, call it the hipness quotient... there is a timeless,
future-primitive chic to the geodesic that few houses offer. The dome concept appears to be erected
on the improbable intersection of hippie culture and the space age."
-- Matt Jones, Independent Online