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Sunday, September 11, 2011

A little bit about the Dome Home

     I can't remember a time that I was unaware of solar energy. As I mentioned before, my grandfather was always working on ways to conserve our planet's resources. He constantly made improvements to his own inventions, which were already impressive considering the time period. As early as the sixties, he built a house and strategically installed pvc pipes and ran water (that was heated by the fireplace) through them to provide heat for the floors. In the same house, he placed skylights to lighten and heat the rooms. The house was positioned to make the most use of the sun. He was very aware of the sun's potential for energy and began researching ways that he could utilize it.
     His biggest solar energy accomplishment was the completion of a self-sustaining Dome Home. The 3-bedroom, 3-bath island house was powered totally by solar energy; it had a hot tub, two refrigerators, ceiling fans, air conditioning, satellite TV... everything (and more) that you would expect in a home.
    For my next post, I will describe in more detail how the solar energy was used and what he used as a water supply.

Here is a picture of my grandfather and my uncle installing the solar panels:


  1. Incredible! A true inventor!

    Your grandfathers dream home is a site of beauty and fond memory of my childhood. I will never forget the moments spent on Cape Romano pondering how this place came to be. So neat and inspiring! Thanks for blogging!

  2. I have always wanted a DOME then husband thought they were too futuristic and I said so what...we are in Florida...we have hurricanes here....wink....these survived Wilma even though they were already in disrepair...WOW...what does that say for geodesic technology....this is such a looked like a wonderful place to go and HOW I would love to have one now....fully self contained....

  3. Our primary home is a geodesic dome in the mountains of Southern California. Great in high winds, earthquakes, and all sorts of weather. We love it!