Better insulator - log or straw?
#1
Better insulator - log or straw?
I am putting together ideas for the house I plan to build, hopefully within 2-3 years. My plan is to use green, recycled and renewable as much as practical and make the house as inexpensive to operate and maintain as possible. Toward that end, I'm interested in which material makes the better insulator for wall construction, wood log or straw bale? I have liked the look of log homes for many years, but I know that log home kits can be quite pricey and can require expensive special techniques and tools to complete. On the other hand, my boss has piqued my interest in straw bale construction through his own fascination with it. It sounds like there may not be a better and cheaper insulator to be had, and the tools and techniques seem to be nearly child's play. Any input?
#2
Best insulator - log or bale?
Straw bales are a much better insulator. They are also much thicker, so you have design challenges, although with wood you also have design/construction problems because of the shrinkage of the wood.
Wood is really not as much of an insulatoer, but it performs well because a well maintained log home does not thave the infiltration of a frame home.
If you want real energy efficiency, you will have to spend more money.
Wood is really not as much of an insulatoer, but it performs well because a well maintained log home does not thave the infiltration of a frame home.
If you want real energy efficiency, you will have to spend more money.
#3
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Logs vs Straw
I am putting together ideas for the house I plan to build, hopefully within 2-3 years. My plan is to use green, recycled and renewable as much as practical and make the house as inexpensive to operate and maintain as possible. Toward that end, I'm interested in which material makes the better insulator for wall construction, wood log or straw bale? I have liked the look of log homes for many years, but I know that log home kits can be quite pricey and can require expensive special techniques and tools to complete. On the other hand, my boss has piqued my interest in straw bale construction through his own fascination with it. It sounds like there may not be a better and cheaper insulator to be had, and the tools and techniques seem to be nearly child's play. Any input?
My gut feeling is the same as yours, though. I think hay (straw) bales would insulate better. I've looked at log cabins, too, while beautiful, insulation is a problem with them. The log cabin "kits" , generally from Canada*, are more expensive than traditional housing, so I dropped the idea of building one. I still might try building a small cabin (about 10'x6'x6') with the wood I have available in my property (in Georgia), just to see how well it works, or doesn't.
The Three Little Pigs, aside, the house of straw may beat a house of sticks.
*One element of green building is to consider the transportation of materials. Buying locally or using local materials is better for the environment because of less fuel use.
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http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/.../mytopic=10350
Try this link. There are related links to the right.
Try this link. There are related links to the right.
#7
Slightly off topic, I built a log home once before they were in vogue, and before anyone did any "studies" on them. Our local power company wouldn't give me a "good cents" certification, mainly because they didn't understand thermal transfer. Logs, absorb sunshine heat during the day and transfer it in during the night when it is needed, and it is reversed when the cool night air cools the logs and the cool air is transferred in the daytime to the inside. Of course the insulation factor isn't what hay bales are, and after watching some of the "green" programs on the subject, making a hay bale pretty can only be done by a cow eating it.