We go to great lengths to ensure that our environmental footprint is kept at a minimum. Governments are coming up with more stringent regulations to promote environmental friendly practices. We are already feeling the effects of global warming as climate change is being experienced in many places across the globe. There is no better time to be more cautious on how our activities affect the environment than right now. One of the most common human activities is house building given that the world population is now at approximately 7.112 billion according to the United States Census Bureau. Unfortunately, most of the contemporary homes built by man are not entirely eco friendly.
Concrete structures have been taken to be synonymous with contemporary homes. They are often built on site and prove to be very expensive to the typical household. Most contemporary homes are rectangular in shape and have rooftops to cover their summits.
Geodesic dome homes are a 'modern' kind of housing that were popularized by Robert Buckminister Fuller who made it his calling to revolutionize human housing. A geodesic dome home is simply a geodesic dome that is used as a residential home. A geodesic dome is a structure made up of geodesics or great circles which in turn interlock to form a series of triangles that give the structure the strength to stand as a sphere or semi-sphere without invoking the use of support structures such as beams.
You stand to be regarded as an environmental conscious person by living in a geodesic dome home. Such homes are considered eco friendly because of a number of reasons. They are energy efficient, sustainable and long lasting.
Being highly enclosed, having a low thermal mass as a result of its unique design and having materials such as polyurethane and magnesium oxide with excellent insulating properties make a typical geodesic dome home to be highly energy efficient. Conventional homes use twice the energy that a typical geodesic dome home would use. This means that you stand to reduce your electricity bills by half if you choose to live in such a home! Improved energy efficiency means that a lesser strain is put on earth's natural resources to produce more energy.
Sustainability is all about using earth's natural resources to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations. Geodesic dome homes are sustainable in that they completely eliminate the use of wood in construction of houses. Trees which play a pivotal role in the ecosystem are therefore left unharmed. A huge majority of the materials used in making a typical geodesic dome home are also largely recyclable or renewable. This means that there are virtually no waste materials that result from making a geodesic dome home.
Geodesic dome homes are more long lasting compared to a huge majority of contemporary homes. A typical geodesic dome home can last for centuries to come! This capability boils down to the components that make up a geodesic dome home. There is no component used in making geodesic dome homes that is made of wood. This automatically makes them resistant to termites, water vapor and rot.
Geodesic dome homes are certainly more environmental friendly than most of the conventional homes. It is therefore a worthy investment for people who care for our beautiful earth and for the needs of our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and many more generations to come.