[Cob] cob and energy and codes

[howard at earthandstraw.com]

If it is a hot shower that alone will heat the bathroom just fine, then the issue may or may not be condensation, which is why bathrooms have exhaust fans.  But I agree there is much lacking in terms of awareness of energy use and that codes should favor working with people rather than industries.  One of the problem industries, besides materials, is the real estate industry which also impacts buildings by trying to impose a certain kind of conformity, their view of what the "market" finds acceptable in terms of finishes, size and appurtenances.



Howard Switzer, Architect
668 Hurricane Creek Road
Linden, TN 37096
931-589-6513
www.earthandstraw.com
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Henry Raduazo 
  To: Tys Sniffen 
  Cc: coblist at deatech.com 
  Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 9:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [Cob] cob and energy and codes


  ... May God preserve us from rich people who want to do something for  
  the environment...
  I just visited a place called "Eco-Village" in VA where they have  
  huge houses one I would estimate to be 2-3000 square feet. It has  
  energy star appliances, R-this walls and R-that ceiling and a  
  geothermal climate control system that heats and cools the entire  
  space using ground water. There are lots of south facing windows for  
  passive solar, but the windows are  low E glass so that there is no  
  significant amount solar gain and considerable heat loss relative to  
  the insulated walls.
  Putting this in perspective, the floor space of Linda Smiley's  
  entire cob house can be fit into the combined area of the bathrooms  
  of this "eco-house" and in fact her bathroom can be fit into the  
  bathtub of the master bedroom.
  My opinion is that to make this an eco-friendly house you need 10 to  
  20 people living in it.
  On the other hand I know a lady who is living off the grid in an  
  abandoned one car garage. This is an eco-frienly house regardless of  
  the particular R-values of her walls and ceiling.
  The energy code is meaningless unless it measures the energy  
  consumption per person in a particular living space and that depends  
  on how you live. Try to bring a 2000 square foot cob house up to 75  
  degrees Fahrenheit in the cold months of winter and I do not think it  
  will qualify as eco-friendly. We must dare to be small or at least  
  dare to heat only the smallest possible living space.
  A house should be designed in such a way that even if you do not  
  heat it, it will never freeze, and even if you do not air condition  
  it, it will be livable. To do this you need passive heating and  
  cooling, and one of the cheapest material to store passive energy is  
  earth. Use it wisely and it will serve you well.
  We always say "try to be generally right instead of precisely  
  wrong." I think huge climate controlled houses designed for two or  
  three people are precisely wrong regardless of the energy codes. In  
  fact even having an energy code is perhaps precisely the wrong  
  approach because it encourages green washing gigantic houses and  
  discourages small comfort zones within a house.
  My ideal would be one where I can: Heat the bathroom 20 minutes a  
  week for two showers. Heat a living/dining room only when I am there  
  to enjoy it. Heat the entire house never!
  Forget the codes,
  ed
  On Sep 26, 2009, at 10:47 PM, Tys Sniffen wrote:

  > It was pointed out earlier that cob is a long shot due to the  
  > natural, i.e.,
  > not store-bought material nature of cob for codes.  Then it was  
  > pointed out
  > that this discussion was about *energy* codes, not building codes.   
  > Energy,
  > meaning heating and cooling.
  >
  > Interesting that they are two different things. I might want to  
  > argue that
  > by using natural, local material and doing it oneself saves oodles  
  > of energy
  > that other, perhaps higher R value homes don't even consider.  Just a
  > thought.
  >
  > Tys
  >
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