To me, the art of permaculture is putting resources where they can do the most good with the least amount of effort. By building with conscious design principles, we can create homes that are aligned with natural forces and that will keep their inhabitants cozy year-round with very little energy.
My wife, Mary Jane, and I built an Earthship-inspired earthbag house beginning in 2016. It gives us free heat on sunny winter days and keeps us relatively cool and dry in summertime, all without grid power and central air or heat. This summer, we installed a window AC unit, and we run it on drying mode to keep our humidity low and the mold out. What we’ve found is that, because of all the thermal mass in our home, it needs much less power to stay cool. The window unit, which was made for an area of 450 square feet or less, keeps our 1,000-square-foot house as cool as a cucumber, even on the hottest days.
That’s what prompts me to share these conscious design principles and their benefits with
