Rear cover notes although the exploration of earth sheltered housing as a form of energy efficient housing design began only in the last decade it has already been established as a very effective means of providing aesthetic cost effective housing that significantly reduces energy consumption individual earth sheltered homes use 25 to 80 percent of the fuel required for more conventional housing. Earth sheltered community design energy efficient residential development raymond sterling john carmody gail elnicky on amazoncom free shipping on qualifying offers earth sheltered community design energy efficient residential development. Earth sheltered community design book read reviews from worlds largest community for readers. Earth sheltered community design energy efficient residential development prepared by the underground space center university of minnesota raymond sterling principal investigator john carmody project coordinator gail elnicky associate project coordinator funded by the legislative commission on minnesota resources. Before deciding to design and build an earth sheltered house youll need to consider your building sites climate topography soil and groundwater level climate studies show that earth sheltered houses are more cost effective in climates that have significant temperature extremes and low humidity such as the rocky mountains and northern great plains