I have always felt we would be better off building homes underground and this is one example. I would also like to find a way to capture the heat of summer to supplement the heat needed for winter using some sort of giant black(absorbs radient heat) heat sink that could be raised during the summer and then lowered into the ground where the ground would insulate it (store the heat) to be used when needed.
Inside A $1.5 Million Cave House - Yahoo! Real Estate (http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/inside-a-15-million-cave-house.html)

the best insulator of heat is MUD
so if you build a MUD pit underneath a house
and then have your heat run through it first
it'll retain that heat all winter long.

It's funny you mention mud, if the inground pool we have was ever decided to be filled in I was thinking about utilizing it for just that type of set up. It was going to be my own experiment in geothermal heat. Looks like we both think outside of the same box :-D
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It's called heat sink storage and there are a number of methods to do it.

It's called heat sink storage and there are a number of methods to do it.

Thanks Pete, thats what I like about this site, if you don't know about it and post, there are people who will help. I'll do a little searching. :btu:

so if you build a MUD pit underneath a house.

I think thats what this guy tried.....

Swamp Castle.wmv - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU2y6ztlMAQ)

Tdf......too funny
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one out four ain't bad if'n ya gots the rocks LOL

It's funny you mention mud, if the inground pool we have was ever decided to be filled in I was thinking about utilizing it for just that type of set up. It was going to be my own experiment in geothermal heat. Looks like we both think outside of the same box :-D
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fill it with Loam and grow a garden heh heh

Shhhhhhhh;)
I'll look into an semi-opaque loop lock just incase

One word,"Earthship".

Did they test that thing for radon?

I put a heat sink in my passive solar greenhouse. 14" of concrete covered with black slate. All glass facing south. Thermal shades go down at night and the floor gives off heat all night.