• Home
• Our Dome System
  Plans & Sizes

  Our Dome System Features Dome Skylights Roofing Applications Climate Modified Energy Efficient Domes "Green" & Healthy Domes Hybrid Cars, Wind Energy, Etc. Energy Star Domes Dome Plans Dome Sizes

• The Dome Store

  The dome shell with all its related products, complete prices and ordering information. Basic dome information you can order. All About Domes Catalog

• Upcoming Events

  Dome School Dome Tours Dome Raisings Viewing a Dome News Articles Minnesota Home and Garden Show

• Featured Domes

  Bear Creek Dome Domes Completed- A list of domes by state Domes for Sale The Beach Dome Fairfax, Virginia San Antonio, Texas Sedona, Arizona Malibu, California Brandon, Minnesota International Domes

• About Us

  Who We Are Hurricanes, Tornados, Earthquakes, Blizzards and More Garages to Gazebos to Screendomes Large Domes and Special Projects Dome Comments FAQ Dr. Dome Links

• Contact Us

Tessa Hill and Dennis Odin Johnson
Bear Creek Dome

• Model: 1800 mid profile, 49' diam. dome home
• Location: North Branch, Minnesota. Department of Energy Zone 7A (severe cold-moist) 9000 heating degree days.
• House size: 3200 SF; slab on grade. Main floor 2100 sf, upper floor 1100 sf.
• Specifications: 18" thick dome walls and dome roof, 16" fiberglass insulation (R-Value=57 in triangles, R-Value=62 in riser walls), vented dome shell; slab has 2" styrofoam under and 11" styrofoam on edge of slab. Blower door test was .06 ACH
• Heating system: Radiant floor in 4" concrete slab using 1500 lf of PEX tubing circulating water. Heating unit is 14 KW Seisco Electric "instant on" boiler with a secondary natural gas "Munchkin" boiler that you can switch to manually. Electric rate is off-peak interruptable rate of 4.2¢ /KW. * Note: Rate increase to 4.84¢ /KW in Feb. 2008 (14% increase).
• Built: 2007, moved into November
• Heating costs: See below.There may be extra heating costs included to "start up" the concrete slab. The heat was turned on Oct 11, 2007. (Billings run from the 7th of each month.)

Winter 2007-2008
Month	Cost	KW Used
July 07	$0	None
August 07	$0	None
September 07	$0	None
October 07	$71	1680 kw
November 07	$153	3640 kw
December 07	$156	3720 kw
January 08	$165	3940 kw
February 08	$143*	2980 kw
March 08	$97	2020 kw
April 08	$73	1520 kw
May 08	$16	340 kw
June 08	----	----
Total:	$765.00	16,660 KW
Winter 2008-2009
Month	Cost	KW Used
July 08	$0	None
August 08	$0	None
September 08	$11	220 kw
October 08	$55	1140 kw
November 08	$152	3160 kw
December 08	$216	4500 kw	January, 2009, was extremely cold, the 4th coldest January on record. All of the days were below 32° (0° C) with some periods of 4-5 days where it never was warmer than 0° (-18° C).
January 09	$244	5080 kw
February 09	$150	3120 kw
March 09	$140	2160 kw
April 09	$30	620 kw
May 09	$8	180 kw
Total:	$871.00	16,840 KW

Kim and Steve Long

• Model: 1500 low profile, 45' diam. dome home
• Location: Perry, Iowa. Department of Energy Zone 5A (cold-moist) 6500 heating degree days.
• House size: 3600 SF; 1700 SF basement, 1700 SF main floor, 200 SF loft.
• Specifications: 2x8 dome walls and dome roof. 7" sprayed-in place foam (R-Value=27), unvented dome shell, no vapor barrier, permanent treated wood foundation walls with 2x8 studs, 7" sprayed-in-place icynene "soft" foam (R-Value=27). Basement walls have one side approximately 2/3 out of the ground. Blower foor test was .03 ACH
• Heating system: Radiant floor in basement concrete slab using PEX tubes circulating water and PEX tubes under plywood of main floor with insulation under; heating unit is "Munchkin" natural gas boiler. There is a natural gasburning fireplace on the main floor, however; it is not used for the main heating. It is rated at 42,000 BTU output with 86% efficiency.
• Built: 2006 (moved in March 2007)
• Heating costs: See below. Please note that the domestic hot water system is also operating with natural gas. The average usage is based on 30 therms and is not in the heating total. *Also note that this dome is still not complete. The insulation under the main floor has not been finished, and we expect heating costs to decrease as the proper insulation is finalized. November and December bills are averaged. Billings run from the 10th of each month.
• Also note that due to rising energy costs, the cost per therm nearly doubled this past heating season. The price per therm is noted in the chart below.
  

Month	Cost	Price per therm	KW or Therms Used
July 2007	$0		None
August 2007	$0		None
September 2007	$0		None
October 2007	$35	$.60	33 therms *
November 2007	$111	$.73	100 therms *
December 2007	$142	$.74	128 therms *
January 2008	$169	$.77	150 therms *
February 2008	$120	$.86	134 therms *
March 2008	$72	$1.00	80 therms *
April 2008	----	$1.02	----
May 2008	----	$1.12	----
June 2008	----		----
To-date Total:	$649.00* (see note above)		625 Therms

 

 

Joyce and Rich Peake

• Model: 1250 Low Profile 40' diam dome home
• Location: Mounds View, Minnesota. Department of Energy Zone 6A (severe cold-moist) 8400 heating degree days.
• House size: 3200 SF; walk out basement 1350 SF, main floor 1450 SF, loft 450 SF
• Specifications: 15" thick dome walls & dome roof, 12" fiberglass insulation (R-Value = 44), vented dome shell, riser walls 45" high, 15" thick with 15" fiberglass (R-Value=51) Permanent treated wood foundation walls with 2x8 studs, 7 1/4" fiberglass insulation (R-Value = 27)
  (Lower floor has 2x8 walls 3' in ground with a walk out patio door on one side.)
• Heating system: Forced air, natural gas, high efficiency furnace (no wood stove)
• Built: 1984
• Heating costs: (Billings run from the 12th of each month.)

Month	Cost	KW or Therms Used
June 2007	$12.00	4
July 2007	$12.00	4
Aug 2007	$11.00	3
Sept 2007	$12.00	4
Oct 2007	$37.00	30
Nov 2007	$96.00	80
Dec 2007	$112.00	92
Jan 2008	$116.00	103
Feb 2008	$106.00	92**
March 2008	$65.00	51
April 2008	$28.00	17
May 2008	$0	0
June 2008	$0	0
Total:	$514.00	398 Therms
Winter 2008-2009
July, 2008	$0	0
Aug., 2008	$0	0
Sept., 2008	$0	0
Oct., 2008	$31	28
Nov., 2008	$90	86
Dec., 2008	$115	130
Jan., 2009	$91	108

** Indicates rate increase