environment. Some criticize the technique (along with the earth sheltering technique as a whole), stating concerns including difficulty and expense of construction, moisture and lack of evidence. Annualized geo solar Another design aimed at passive seasonal energy storage, annualized geo solar is sometimes applied to earth shelters. Earth tube ventilation Passive cooling which pulls air with a fan or convection from a nearly constant temperature air into buried Earth cooling tubes and then into the house living space. This also provides fresh air to occupants and the air exchange required by ASHRAE. Comparison with standard housing Advantages In 1981, Oehler promoted his low-budget building design (a simple hole in the ground with walls of wooden planks backed by plastic sheeting) by claiming it needed no foundation, used less building material and labour, had less maintenance, was aesthetically pleasing, had a lower taxation rate in the US at the time, cost less to regulate temperature, was less affected by stormy weather, had pipes which wouldn't freeze where they entered the house, were "ecologically sound", relatively fireproof, soundproof and had an increased garden space as compared to regular house on a similarly sized plot of land. He also claimed the view from a window below the ground was better than that from other windows, and that the flooring he used in his an underground home (plastic sheeting over bare dirt) was "superior" to what is elsewhere available. He claimed he would provide a built-in greenhouse in the design. He claimed his homes could be used as fallout shelters in case of nuclear wars and also claimed that, in the case of complete societal collapse, his design would be more defensible than a regular house in the case of random attacks, as well as being better concealed from potential hostiles (without a map and unfamiliar with the area). He believed that underground, inhabitants would be better protected from "atmospheric radiation" (Fallout). Because his design was not waterproofed, one would be "closer to a source of water", and could potentially simply dig a well in the middle of the room. He furthermore claimed anyone could build one of his designs irrespective of skill or ability for only $50. Passive heating and cooling Due to its density, compacted earth acts as thermal mass, meaning that it stores heat and releases it again slowly. Compacted soil is more of a conductor of heat than an insulator.