Specifications: 2,224 sq. ft. interior, 564 sq. ft. greenhouses, 1,520 sq. ft. courtyard, each side has two bedrooms, two baths, Footprint: 74’ diameter not including 8.5’ wide greenhouse
Description: The Torus Design is the first home to my knowledge that is specifically designed to utilize cold fusion generation. When LENR reactors come on the market (hopefully next year), they could be coupled with a micro-CHP cogenerator to produce both heat (radiant floor heat, in this case) and electrical power. The house concept was inspired by the movie Thrive, which outlines ways of creating prosperity and equality in the world. Lack of energy is at the heart of many of the world’s problems. Clean, affordable, sustainable energy would likely raise the standard of living for mankind by helping to alleviate poverty, hunger, lack of clean water and more.
The Torus Design brings together three emerging trends: increasing self sufficiency — including renewable energy and food production, families moving back together to save money, and sustainability. These trends are evident in the growth of home gardens, organic food, green building, eco-conciousness, off-grid homes, do-it-yourself attitudes, and cost cutting strategies such as bartering and trading for goods and services.
The current version could be used as a duplex (rent the other half to slash your bills). You could split costs with a friend or family member and share the courtyard. A lot of people can no longer afford their own home, so this design offers a potential solution for families to move in together. The design could be customized for large families.
Options not shown: cisterns on the exterior and courtyard, underground Earthbag Survival Shelter with optional escape tunnel, Cool Pantry, rainwater barrels, food forest surrounding the home.
Thrive movie (also on YouTube or at least it was for a while)
Over 120 more designs at Earthbag House Plans
Plans can be ordered through DreamGreenHomes.com (The Torus Design should be posted there shortly.)
Renewables aren’t yet inexpensive and efficient enough to compete with fossil fuels.
Hello Owen,
I found your work really interesting. I have a cold fusion blog in Spanish and I would like to post about your Torus project. Could you please give me your permission to write about it and post your pictures?
Thanks in advance.
Email me at strawhouses [at] strawhouses.com
Not to rain on your parade but there’s no evidence yet that these “LENR” devices actually work yet… These devices have not been proven to work, not even a prototype. They tend to violate the laws of physics by their very nature. As far as we can tell the creators of these devices are tilting at windmills. [rant edited for brevity]
No evidence? How much evidence do you need? I’ve listed a mountain of evidence. Did you follow the links, watch the videos and read the slides? Or are you someone who leaves hundreds of messages repeating the same old thing while ignoring the facts?
…Did I follow the links? Nope. I’ve been to two or three of them already from reddit…
I spent a lot of time to put together lots of credible sources and now you admit you didn’t even read them. Sorry, but I’m too busy to debate these things with people who don’t do the research.
List of LENR companies who may have commercially available products in the near future:
Andrea Rossi/Leonardo Corp. http://leonardocorp1996.com/
Defkalion Green Technologies http://www.defkalion-energy.com/
Star Scientific http://www.starscientific.com.au/welcome-message-from-chairman/
Brilliouin Energy http://www.brillouinenergy.com/
Energetics Technologies http://www.energeticstech.com/index.htm
Jet Energy http://world.std.com/~mica/jet.html
Also: Mitsubishi, Nichenergy, LENUCO, Nanospire and maybe Blacklight Power
Vietnam Scientist Invents Water-fuelled Generator
http://www.nanoacademia.com/nano-news/nanomaterials/item/979-vietnam-scientist-invents-water-fuelled-generator.html
With the abundance of heat and electricity I would definitely add a hot tub.
.
Maybe put a hot tub in the courtyard.
What programs do you use for floor plans and the 3D renderings?
AutoCAD and SketchUp.
Example micro-CHP unit (combined heat and power system) for home use: Infinia http://www.infiniacorp.com/micro-chp.html
I imagine the LENR manufacturer will have a list of recommended micro-CHP suppliers best suited to their system.
E-Cat Powered Cyclone Engine
http://ecatreport.com/rossi/e-cat-powered-cyclone-engine-in-the-near-future
What LENR Heat Could Mean to the Average Family:
http://coldfusion3.com/blog/what-lenr-heat-could-mean-to-the-average-family
Owen,
Congratulations! This is one of the best design ideas I have seen so far. You seem to have thought of everything.
A house like this is very comfortable, at least the ones I personally know with inner patio are. They give the sensation of a lot of extra space. I have seen them mainly in Latin Countrys more seldom in “Northern Countries” where the climate is colder. I have never seen them in a round design.
There is one suggestion I have: Maybe care needs to be given to the width of the living and dining area space. In my personal opinion it should be more then 4 meters in width. Looking at the beds and assuming they are 2 meters long it seems the width of the entire living space circle is less then 4 meters.
As extra width is not really necessary to the corridors, bedrooms and/or bathrooms I do think it is important to consider them for a living and dining area where you are spending most of the time. I think with this design you could do this easy if you alter the main entrances by using some of the allocated “greenhouse area” as part of the living space and extending the greenhouse outward to compensate for this space.
Again, congrats to this wonderful design!
Walter
LandTrees
I haven’t seen any designs utilizing a breezeway to tunnel air flow between a section of the house or perhaps between the house and a garage. My grandparents lived out in the country of Southeast Texas and it was a main living area even with the high humidity they always seemed to have. Do you plan to have any designs incorporating this concept anytime soon?
Three Roundhouses Design with breezeways between roundhouses: http://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/three-roundhouses-design/
Summer Breeze (direct air through the house) http://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/summer-breeze/
Two Arc Houses next to each other with breezeway between the ends: http://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/arc-house/
Six Pod Cluster with space between the units so wind can blow through: http://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/cluster-designs/
The Torus Design could be split so wind can blow through the courtyard like the Six Pod Cluster.
Absolutely fabulous, Owen!! I (metaphorically)bow to your creative mind! :-) I think this is the best design I’ve seen! I can’t wait to show it to my husband. I’m very interested in some if the options not shown (well, at least I know my husband will be)! I’m looking forward to seeing the e-cat system on the market!!
Thanks, glad you like it. But wait until next week and see how you like my next plan.