WHY EARTH TUBES?

Why Earth Tubes? When I first stumbled upon earth tubes, I was searching for a natural and passive means of air conditioning for homes. I remember seeing a photo of such a system in an arabic country in one of the many green architecture books I have read. I couldn't find that system, but was very pleased with what I had found. Earth tubes are a method to precondition the air for your home or building. The system is very simple, .tubes are buried under the ground where the temperature stays relativelly constant. There is an inlet for the ambient air to enter the system. As it travels through the tubes, it is conditioned by the temperature under ground. In the winter the air is warmed, in the summer it is cooled. The air then enters your building by an outlet using a small fan to keep the air flowing. Thus your air is pre conditioned.



Who am I? My name is Chris Carrier. I am a husband, a father, a student at Thompson Rivers University, an employee with the city of Kamloops, and have been a number of different things at different times and stages of my life. I am not a typical student, since I am in my early forties. I have been interested in green buildings and architecture since my days as a tree house dweller in Uclulet, BC. I am also a budding writer. My published works include "Dragon Problem's" by Hur publishing and an article entitled "Of Kids and Hobbits" published in Kamloops Momma, a local parenting magazine.



What is the goal of the research? The main goal of my research is to determine if earth tubes are a viable option for Kamloops, BC. In addition to this, I would like to find low impact technologies that could be used in the construction industry that could be used to lessen the environmental impacts of the way we do things in the construction industry. As the planet continues to warm, a leaner, meaner, way of constructing homes and buildings can be achieved, today. The technology exists to change course. I have taken my LEED Green Associate course and hope to incorporate some of the technologies into my research.



As part of my research, I have been building a small cabin on a relatives property. I have built an earth tube system and have been testing it throughout the summer. The cabin will become a sort of testing ground for different systems I am interested in. The cabin has been built old school, using a hand saw, a cordless drill, and a hammer and nails. I have been posting pictures on the blog to keep people updated with my project.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

brought the earth tubes to the site and began the installation process.



I decided to go with 4" corrugated, non-perforated, tubes for my earth tube system. I have been wanting to test a smaller diameter system but the cost was a bit much. I ended up going with one run of 150 feet, but there will be alot of length remaining. This run will be the deepest one at 5-6 feet deep. The second run will be 100 feet and will be at about four feet of depth. I will connect them before they enter the building. Each run will then be tested independently. I will also test the system with both pipes connected. I am still looking for a fan to force the air through and to prevent condensation. I need to find a small fan that runs on solar power since I am off the grid. I may have to rig something up, maybe a turbine vent would work. still looking into my options. Any suggestions would be great.
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4 comments:

  1. Mikko VuorelaJanuary 15, 2012 at 3:00 AM

    Hello. Very interesting project. I am planning to build an earth tube system in to my house in the next summer. I am living in Oulu Finland. Winters here are very cold so I hope that the earth tubes could pr-heat the air. Thus our energy bill should decrease. How is your project proceeding?

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  2. RWTMay 24, 2012 at 12:05 AM

    I like what you are doing...we are on the same page. I have built a passively cooled home in northern Thailand and am now, looking for alternative methods to cooling it. I realize the earth tube approach is best done during foundation construction, but I have a huge crawl space that I can almost stand up in and have in effect, my space and route for the tubing.

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  3. AnonymousJune 26, 2012 at 2:50 PM

    Very interesting project. Earth tubes not only save power but help cool houses in countries where electricity is not available 24/24.

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  4. DeeplyInArtDecember 28, 2012 at 2:52 AM

    I just discovered this entry and I am deeply surprised in a positive way by the manner you compose your blog post! Which methods do you mostly turn to in order to spread the knowledge that you have posted a fresh article to your site?

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