Thermal Benefits of Earth Wall Buildings.
Low to Zero Carbon Earth Homes.
Energy efficiency or energy avoidance?
EBAA Proposes well designed high thermal mass buildings that are net zero carbon and require little or no energy for thermal comfort, Australia wide.
Rather than the endless insulation and sealing of buildings to lessen air conditioning costs, EBAA proposes building with thick massive unfired earth walls, climatically well designed and free running. At the same time using low embodied energy earth building methods. The aim is low carbon in construction and in lifetime running of the buildings to overall be carbon neutral.
There should be a hierarchy of ways to make buildings energy efficient, but different for mechanically conditioned and naturally conditioned buildings. The articles in the link below, describe how the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS), Home Rating Scheme, prepared and enforced by the Federal Government through the National Construction Code (NCC) has errors in the rating software and measurement that do not capture real situations. Changes are needed, and should come in the NCC.
Read these papers by EBAA Vice President Peter Hickson to see how all this can be achieved.
Then, to hear this all developed further, attend the EBAA International Conference at Charles Sturt University, a rammed earth sustainable University, at Albury, New South Wales, on 4,5, 6 November 2017. World renown thermal experts will be discussing these and other matters in relation to earth buildings in an emerging worldwide low carbon building and built environment. The conference theme is: “Earth Building in Modern Sustainable Architecture”.
Read these articles regarding the thermal position of unfired earth as a building material.
The articles are here (click on each title or photo to be taken to the article):
Mass-linked Ventilation Offers Comfort for Australian Buildings
Earth Building – Modern Sustainable Architecture in Advanced Economies