Energy Savings

According to David South, President of the Monolithic Dome Institute, the concrete in a Monolithic Dome is isolated from the outside world by insulation. Therefore it is used as a thermal battery. This means heat can be stored in the dome shell and then that heat is available to use at a later time. There is no other structure which offers this advantage.

In 1998, Chuck and Louise Snyder finished building their two-dome, 3,000 square foot home in Alaska overlooking the Kasilof River. The dome home’s primary heating system is an oil furnace that heats the water for in-floor, radiant heat. For emergency purposes, the Snyders had a supplementary heating system consisting of a generator and wood stove placed between the domes.
“In January 1999, temperatures plummeted to minus 30 degrees, bringing with them a wind chill of minus 52 degrees Fahrenheit. One evening, Chuck noticed that the water was not as hot as it usually was. But Chuck simply thought they had temporarily overtaxed their hot water supply. The next day, however, they had no warm water. Chuck checked the furnace and discovered they were out of heating oil. At that point, their Monolithic Dome had been without heat for two days. But had it not been for the water going cold, the Snyders still would not have known it.”