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.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

I decided to use standard construction for my cabin.

I was looking into different building methods for the cabin but decided to go with standard construction for the project. The floor plan is 14 feet by 16 feet long. My roof pitch will be 9/12 in order to build a little loft for the girls to sleep in. Due to cost constraints, I built the floor on a log skid that I built. The floors are well insulated (R22) as will be the walls. I'm hoping to achieve an  R32 rating for the roof and wall by using batt insulation and rigid insulation from the cutouts of a door manufacturer. Here is a photo of the floor and walls thus far.


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Saturday, July 16, 2011

Here is the outlet where the cool air will enter the building!

I have put in a difusser to try and force the air convection. If it doesn't work, I have a small fan that will do the trick. Here is a photo of that. I had to put some screens over my openings to keep the critters out.
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Here is the air inlet for my system!

So, I'm sorting through the pictures that I have of my work thus far. Here are some photos of the air inlet.


Very basic set-up but it should do the trick.
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Thursday, July 14, 2011

Here is the information about my data logger!

I bought my data loggers from a Canadian company, their online address is http://www.optimumenergy.com/. They were very prompt with sending my order and I had no issues from the products so far. I am a little worried about the temperature low point. It gets cold at that elevation. I wouldn't mind getting soem readings during the colder months. I will get the actual elevation from a gps reading. I am currently programming my data logger's, I'll let you know how it goes and provide more details of the program.

EL-USB-LITE

  • -10 to +50°C (+14 to +122°F) Measurement Range
  • 1 Month Battery Life
  • 2 Settable Alarm Thresholds
  • Red/Green Alarm Status Indication via Button

RoHS compliant

The EL-USB-LITE is a low cost USB temperature data logger with a measurement range of -10 to +50°C (+14 to +122°F) and a fixed sample rate of 30 minutes. The data logger can store over 4,000 readings and is supplied with a coin-cell battery, which provides approximately 1 month's usage. By pressing the button a red/green LED indicates whether a preset alarm level has been met.
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It's been awhile since I have blogged!

It's kind of funny to see it's been a month since I've blogged. I have been busy working on my projects along with work and family time. Working the night shift has slowed me down on my project, but it is getting there. Today I finished the set up for the air-inlet. I would have to build something to hide the set up but you could build something to hide that. I have been thinking about the system and reading up on a few things. I am going on holidays to New Brunswick, next week to visit my family, maybe I'll have more time to post my research. I have some photos and some progress reports to post. I'm gonna write several different topic segments so I can use the information for my research. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.
Peace
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