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Even in hot and humid West Virginia, USA
the building requires very little heating or cooling. The home's efficiency is
due to the solar orientation and passive solar design.
Lots of south facing windows allow low winter sun to hit a thick cob wall. The sun heats
the wall in winter, providing free heat but the same wall is
completely shaded in summer, so it acts like a cooling wall,
absorbing excess heat & humidity from the air in the house during
the humid
summers.
The house has a rubble trench foundation, living
roof, straw bale and cordwood exterior walls, cob and light clay
interior walls, adobe floors, natural clay and lime plasters, and
lots of salvaged materials. You can chat with Sigi
about the design and construction of the house in our Facebook
natural building group where she also talks with members of
the group about how to build a
rubble trench. |
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