Earthship Facts for Kids

Global model Earthship in Taos, New Mexico

Interior of an Earthship with light coming in from the south facing windows

An Earthship is a type of house that is built with natural and recycled materials with energy conservation in mind. Designed by the architect Michael Reynolds and his company Earthship Biotecture, it is built to produce water and electricity for its own use. Mainly made of earth-filled tires it takes advantage of thermal mass, natural heat insulation and ventilation to maintain its temperature. Since it does not require any public utilities such as gas, electricity, water or sewage it can be considered as an off-the-grid housing, meaning that it can live away from public utilities.

An Earthship does not require external support to sustain itself. Instead, it is built to use resources available from its natural surroundings. For example, windows are placed so that sunlight is shone inside the house to be used for heating. Electricity is generated by solar panels and stored in batteries. The roofing collects rainwater that is filtered and used for drinking and various household activities such as cooking and washing. Used water from sinks and showers is reused to water indoor plants and after that for toilet flushing.

Earthships can adapt to different climates and are being build worldwide. In North- and South America, the Carribeans, Asia, Africa and Europe. Construction drawings and training should enable people to build their own off-the-grid Earthship home and become independent from public and commercial utilities.

Images for kids

Earthship Architecture, Taos, New Mexico
Earthship windows, water barrels, and solar panels
Michael Reynolds' first building, the "Thumb House", was built in the early 1970s. It included features incorporated into later Earthship designs.
Earthship Welcome Center
Building with cans in the 1970s
Tires rammed with earth and stacked
The water system with integrated flush toilet, as used in most earthships
A scupper for collecting rainwater
An interior botanical cell; the plants function as water treatment for graywater
Solar panels on an Earthship
Solar water heater on an Earthship
Natural convection cooling an Earthship
Earthship built by Angel and Yvonne Kamp in South Africa
Earthship Brighton, England

Earthship facts for kids

Images for kids

See also