34′ - 1,075 sq.ft. Energy Efficient Concrete Home linked to 22′ one car garage dome.
(use arrows on right and left side of main picture to view other photos in the gallery)
An American Ingenuity 34 ft in diameter Dome Home with 1,075 sq.ft
can be cooled for less than $27 a month during Florida’s Hottest Months
Energy Efficient Concrete Home in Florida. To view Annual Electrical Bill Charts for a Florida 34′ Ai Dome Home, click on links at bottom of this article named Ai Domes Dome Home Electric Use. The dome home is totally electric with 1,075 sq.ft. and Ai’s standard R-28 insulation. For example the 2015 SUMMARY below shows that the annual costs were $187.94 to air condition & heat the 1,075 sq.ft. Florida Dome Home in 2015. The following describes how we came to this conclusion.
In February, 2015 no Heat or AC were used, therefore the cost to run everything else in the all electric home (dishwasher, washing machine, stove, microwave, dryer, water heater, refrigerator, television and lights) was $36.73. To determine the monthly Air Conditioning cost, we subtracted $36.73 from each month’s electric bill to get that month’s Heating or Air Conditioning Costs. The thermostat is kept at 76 degrees when the owner is home and 79 degrees when not home. (The electric water heater is manually turned on prior to use).
To obtain the home’s 2015 monthly average Air Conditioning costs, we averaged the five hottest month’s AC costs. The five hottest months were May thru September making total air conditioning costs of $132.87 divided by five resulting in a monthly average cost of $26.57 to air condition 1,075 sq.ft. during Florida’s hottest months. FYI - The Aidomes are even more energy efficient when heating is required instead of cooling. When cooling, kilowatts have to be used to overcome heat generated from clothes dryer, dishwasher, computers, stove, refrigerator motor, sun light, etc. When heating the heat generated from these heat sources is used. Ai’s 3,700 sq.ft. office domes can be cooled for less than $85 a month in the hot Florida summer months.
L. Henderson of Florida called and explained he is wanting to build an Ai dome for two main reasons: 1) wind strength against hurricanes and 2) energy efficiency. His current two bedroom/two bath home built in the 70’s monthly electric bill is $250; which means the air conditioning cost is around $125 a month in hot Florida summer months. If he built a 34′ dome he would cut is air conditioning costs significantly from $125 a month to less than $30 a month.
As far as functioning in cold, snowy environment, American Ingenuity domes have been built in such cold climates as Canada, at 7,500 feet elevation in Utah, 3,400 feet elevation in North Carolina, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin, Vermont, New York and all cold states in the USA except for New Hampshire, Rhode Island and North Dakota. As described above It is easier to heat an Ai dome that to cool.
Klaus Kolb’s South Carolina Ai concrete dome house earned EPA’s Energy Star. Home Energy Partners certified his home used 61% less energy than in comparably-size housing. To view pictures of his dome home and Energy Star info, click on Earned Energy Star. He installed a geothermal cooling & heating system. To view pictures & info about his geothermal system, click on System. And scroll down the page. Klaus’s total monthly average energy bill was $49. This includes the electricity and propane costs for his entire 1,600 sq.ft. - 40 ft. dome.
One of our customers in Pennsylvania built a 40′ dome on a full basement. This is quote from them: “We live in the mountains of PA. The winters up here can be brutal. Our Ai Dome is a 40ft with Link on a 9″ thick livable basement. {Den, Office/Computer room, Kitchenette} The entire interior, to include the mechanical room, is heated and cooled by a GeoThermal, Water furnace, Radiant floor system. Our zone controllers are set on 74 degrees winter and summer. Our sole power source, at present, is the grid. Our costs per month range from $99 to a high of $120. We were amazed that our cost now are less than when we lived in a 14 ft by 73 ft mobile home while building the Dome. Our decision to build an American Ingenuity Dome home was the best decision we have ever made.” To view pictures of their dome and other info, click on Charles Dome.
A picture of the dome at 7,500 feet elevation showing snow is one of the flashing pictures on our home page. The dome is off the grid and has increased EPS insulation from our standard 7″ R28 to 9″ or R36. Quote from the Utah dome owners: “Our house and solar electric system have met and exceeded all of our expectations. Our home is warm and spacious. Even with nighttime temperatures below zero, a fire in the masonry heater in the evening and a full day of sun warms the house to 70 degrees F. Our average summertime power consumption is between 150 and 200 kWh/month for 2700 square feet of living space. Wintertime consumption is somewhat higher. For comparison, our average pre-solar usage was near 600 kWh/month in our prior 2000 square foot suburban home.” To view info about this dome at 7,500 feet elevation, click on Collar Domes.
Question: How did the American Ingenuity dome perform during the Energy Efficiency Study prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy? Superbly. Test findings were released from a year long study prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy by the Florida Solar Energy Center, a governmental consumer agency, in cooperation with the University of Oregon and the University of Central Florida. This study compared an American Ingenuity dome with an energy efficient conventionally built structure and a super energy efficient Styrofoam house designed by Dow Chemical. It came as no surprise to us that our test dome far surpassed both the conventional house and the Dow test house in being the most energy efficient.
These are the annual recaps for the years 2010 through 2015 for this dome home. Each recap lists the 12 months in each year and what it cost each month for heat or air conditioning:
To view the individual Florida Power and Light electric bills for 2013, 2014 & 2015. click on the three links below for each year.
2013 Florida Dome Home Monthly Electric Bills
Jan.-April
May-August
Sept.-Dec.
2014 Florida Dome Home Monthly Electric Bills
Jan.-April
May-August
Sept.-Dec.
2015 Florida Dome Home Monthly Electric Bills
Jan - April
May-August
Sept.-Dec.
