Cob: RE: Insulation for cob

[alexander neumann]

> Datum: Sonntag, 11. Juli 1999 21:51
> 
> Whoa! Hey everybody! When I got into Cob it was for the "THERMAL MASS"
> properties. With enough thermal mass I don't need insulation or at least
> not much. 

Be careful not to oversimplify this! 
What you say is true in some places, but not in all, e.g.  in nothern
europe, although MILD compared to the northern US, wintersun is too weak
and short to significantly heat up a house, especially when uninsulated.
Thermal storage simply doesn´t work when there´s nothing to store and what
little is there escapes right away.
The other way around, in cooling climates, when nights are just as hot as
the days, thermal mass only won´t do it neither.
Here in germany I would not build uninsulated exterior cob walls, not to
mention that it´d be illegal. I´d rather go for strawbales, but that´s also
somewhat illegal still. 


Yours, alex