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, October 23, 2011

I haven't had a chance to post lately, heres where the cabin is at.

I am in the middle of writting mid terms and so I haven't been doing much on the cabin. Here's where it's at though. The roof is on, I got the roofing at RONA for half price, and had my father in law help me get the roof on. The cabin is fully insulated and all the windows are in. I may have to move my earth tube inlets since it is probably where my woodstove is going. My inlaws found me a beautiful old wood stove, and fixed the seals. I'm hoping to get it installed next week. Once that is done, I want to figure out what to do for the interior. I'm going to put in slate tiles for a good portion for the passive heat their mass will collect. I'll probably put in laminate floor through the rest of the cabin. My layout will be a little different than I had designed since I have to put the wood stove in a different spot than I had imagined (due to the trees on the East side). Here are some photos.



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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Passed my Green Associate exam yesterday!

I wrote my green associate exam yesterday in Vancouver and passed. So now I have a proffesional accreditation as a LEED tm Green Associate.
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