WV Executive

In today’s world of high electricity bills and ever increasing gas prices, keeping your house warm can cost a fortune. Dome homes, or geodesic domes, are the perfect alternative.

“All of my utilities are less than $100 a month,” says Dr. Anna Miller-Tiedeman of Huntington, who owns a geodesic home. “My gas is about $20 a month and my electric is somewhere between $50 and $60 a month.”

Geodesic Pay-offs

People who own geodesic homes can save anywhere from 50 to 70 percent on heating and air-conditioning costs over the conventional home owner because geodesic homes have one-third less surface area than traditional homes, have better insulation than traditional homes and are more air-tight than traditional homes. Also, there is an efficient airflow inside the dome because the curved walls help the air to circulate. For these reasons a geodesic dome can be heated by a single propane fueled gas log fire.

Miller, who has built her home on the second highest point in Cabell County, says that the minute the sun comes up, the heat goes off. “Even in the winter, the sun heats the house and it gets up to 72 degrees in here,” she explains.

Her home is made of green, triangle shaped, high dimensional shingles that, for the most part, were pre-built and shipped from Miller’s contractor, John Johnson, in Alabama.

Miller calls her home “beautiful and simplistic,” which is exactly why she chose to build a geodesic home; for its openness to the outdoors and its low maintenance.

She and her late husband, David Tiedeman, always admired the architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, who first designed geodesic homes. Together they searched for an architect of geodesic homes over the Internet to help them build their dream home.

“I found John and talked to him for over a year about the design,” Miller says. They finally came up with a design that suited the Miller’s every need.

Her home is made up of two domes joined by a rectangular kitchen. One dome is her living area while the other is her workspace, the New Careering Institute office.

Miller also says the cost of building the 4,000 square foot home was far less than it would have been to build a conventional, rectangular shaped home of the same size.

Built to Last

Aside from being energy-efficient, geodesic domes homes are built to last. They are incredibly strong structures designed to withstand earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes. In fact, American Ingenuity (AI), a geodesic dome home manufacturer, says that during the 2004 Hurricane system, Florida experienced four hurricanes and not one of them damaged any of the homes they built in Florida, even though some were in the direct path of Charley, Ivan, Frances and Jeanne.

Depending on what a home is made of, it can be fireproof. AI builds geodesic homes made of steel reinforced concrete with Expanded Bead Polystyrene insulation which is non-combustible and if on fire, creates less toxic fumes than burning wood.

Bob Heffner of Fairmont opted to build his geodesic home of wood. He says it is entirely designed and “stick-built” by him and his wife and describes it as “somewhere between a ‘hippy built-home’ and a ‘regular traditional home’.”

The Heffners looked at magazines, books and information from kits builders then did the math and built their own kit. Friends helped dig the foundation and lay the block. “Friends came from all over for our ‘barn raising’ and we pretty much did all the rest bit by bit,” Bob explains.

The Heffners continue to work on their home on a “pay-as-you-go” basis and are doing all of the work themselves.

Bob also says that he and his wife were not primarily concerned with the energy efficiency of the dome style home, but were more interested in living in a unique home that they built themselves. However, he does admit that the low bills are a benefit.

“We’ve only had a furnace for two years. Before that we heated with wood. The most wood we ever used in any year was four cords or $400 worth. This is a very comfortable house. We insulated the ‘walls’ to R-35 and the ‘roof’ to R-60. It’s very economical and easy to heat and cool,” says Bob.

Because Bob takes great interest in other peoples’ domes and projects and he wants the job done right, he has visited other West Virginia domes in Salem, Masontown, Buckhannon, Paden City, Washington, Quiet Dell and another in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania.

The Heffners love their home because it’s “very light and bright” and “the space is interesting.” Their favorite aspect of the home is the southern-facing, triangular skylights and the cherry hardwood floors.

The price for an AI geodesic home kit ranges from $9,660 for a 22 foot diameter, 373 square foot home to $50,082 for a 60 foot diameter, 5,180 square foot home. AI has several stock plans to choose from, but will work with you to design a home that is just right for you. There are also several addition options you can add to you home such as a standard, garage or high-profile entry way, a cupola, dormer or skylight.

For more information on American Ingenuity geodesic dome homes, visit http://www.aidomes.com/default.html.