Dome home being built in Cache Valley
The foundation is finished for an energy efficient dome-shaped home in Providence built by Lifestyle Homes and the Monolithic Dome Institute.
The house, called the Arcadia Dome Home, is scheduled to be finished in spring 2016 and is being built for the president of Monolithic, David South. It will be the first dome home built by Monolithic in Cache Valley.
“I grew up in domes,” South said in an online article posted to the Monolithic website. “My wife and kids lived in a dome for ten years. I’m part of the dome business. It’s time to build dome home.”
South said he bought the lot for the Arcadia Dome home in 2013, but had trouble getting a mortgage.
“For a while, the only homes getting mortgages were middle-of-the-road, specification homes built exactly like the neighbor’s house,” he said. “Add this to the unfamiliarity of the dome structure and the cautious nature of bankers, well, you get the idea.”
Finally, after two years, Cache Valley Bank approved the construction loan and construction on the environmentally friendly Arcadia Dome Home began in October. The catch? The house couldn’t be completely dome-shaped. It had to have walls.
“So what we’re doing is we’re making walls and then having a dome roof,” said Brian England, a consultant for Lifestyle.
Lifestyle Homes uses the nationally-recognized Home Energy Rating System to measure the environmental efficiency of its homes. According to the HERS website, the scale ranges from zero to 150, with the numbers representing the amount of energy the house uses. The higher the number, the less energy efficient a home is. An average modern house will score at about 100 on HERS.
England said the Arcadia Dome Home will have a HERS score between 65 and 75, but that it could get all the way down to zero with solar panels and geothermal heating. This means the house would produce the same amount of energy as it uses.
“Everything we’re doing is dedicated to making the home environmentally friendly,” England said. “Even the positioning of the house will contribute to the temperature of the house in winter and summer.”
According to the Monolithic Website, dome homes usually cost about $130 per square foot of floor area. For example, a 1,000 square-foot dome home will with cost about $130,000. The Arcadia Dome will be 3,142 square feet, equating to an estimated cost of $408,460.
The house, called the Arcadia Dome Home, is scheduled to be finished in spring 2016 and is being built for the president of Monolithic, David South. It will be the first dome home built by Monolithic in Cache Valley.
“I grew up in domes,” South said in an online article posted to the Monolithic website. “My wife and kids lived in a dome for ten years. I’m part of the dome business. It’s time to build dome home.”
South said he bought the lot for the Arcadia Dome home in 2013, but had trouble getting a mortgage.
“For a while, the only homes getting mortgages were middle-of-the-road, specification homes built exactly like the neighbor’s house,” he said. “Add this to the unfamiliarity of the dome structure and the cautious nature of bankers, well, you get the idea.”
Finally, after two years, Cache Valley Bank approved the construction loan and construction on the environmentally friendly Arcadia Dome Home began in October. The catch? The house couldn’t be completely dome-shaped. It had to have walls.
“So what we’re doing is we’re making walls and then having a dome roof,” said Brian England, a consultant for Lifestyle.
Lifestyle Homes uses the nationally-recognized Home Energy Rating System to measure the environmental efficiency of its homes. According to the HERS website, the scale ranges from zero to 150, with the numbers representing the amount of energy the house uses. The higher the number, the less energy efficient a home is. An average modern house will score at about 100 on HERS.
England said the Arcadia Dome Home will have a HERS score between 65 and 75, but that it could get all the way down to zero with solar panels and geothermal heating. This means the house would produce the same amount of energy as it uses.
“Everything we’re doing is dedicated to making the home environmentally friendly,” England said. “Even the positioning of the house will contribute to the temperature of the house in winter and summer.”
According to the Monolithic Website, dome homes usually cost about $130 per square foot of floor area. For example, a 1,000 square-foot dome home will with cost about $130,000. The Arcadia Dome will be 3,142 square feet, equating to an estimated cost of $408,460.