little House on the Prairie

[tuba]

i've come to the end of the road . it's sure windy out here , and i need to build a house .

i think to make a dome within a dome . with this in mind , i wonder of the dynamics of air with
reguard to 3 spatial aspects : outside , betwixt the domes , and within the living space . it is
an envelope house . the regional temp here ranges from 20 below to 100d F . the heat source
within is a wood stove . diameter of the house - 30' .

i should build a demostrational plexiglass model ? of course . and some guidance would be
welcome . i would like to observe the physics of air . if this design has potential , then i
need to have a strategy for best managing the details of construction . for one thing -
in summer the envelope air must be quickly vented up and out . ha! maybe there's a
windmill up there too . it could power a musicbox ?

of the one book i've found , the writer advises the air within an envelope be dry .
condensation is the concern ; yet temp differential animates air movement . within
the envelope the air motion is termed convection insulation .

 

[CAllenDoudna]

What are you making this house out of? You have five basic choices: wood, metal, masonry, glass, or plastic. I might also add sod or dirt. If the outside wall is metal then the dead air space between will have essentially no insulation value unless foam or fiberglas are added bringing it up to at least r-12. The other materials have a bit more insulation value but still need foam or fiberglas to bring them up to r-12. If you insulate to r-24 you will not need a heat source as your warm body will be sufficient. Sunlight coming in through the windows will be sufficient. The heat from fixing breakfast will be sufficient. I'd still hang on to that heatin' stove, though.

As for venting the summer heat, I suggest you build a glass chimney in the top of your dome and stick a black barrel in it with the ends cut out. Sunlight will pass through the glass and become ifrared (heat) when it strikes the black barrel. Glass blocks infrafed and so heat builds up (the greenhouse effect) heating the air inside the black barrel. Since hot air rises it goes out the chimney and warm air near the cieling rises into the barrel. Mild air then flows up from countertop level and cool air will come up from the basement.

To get fresh cool air into the basement I recommend either building the house on a hill or piling dirt around the house to make it a house on a hill. You can create masonry ductwork by putting cement blocks on their side in a gentle downward slope (so water doesn't flow in) from the basement to exit at the side of the hill. You will want to put screens over each block so bugs and snakes down't get into your basement. If burried at least 10 feet the earth will cool (or heat) the air flowing through these blocks to a constant 55-60 f year round. If its less than 10 feet then you will get more variation in the air temperature.

 

[tuba]

thanks for the reply . if i choose to employ mass insulation i'll just
make it out of sticks and dirt . traditionally , 4 log posts in the middle
support the roof . midst of those is the firepit .

the glass chim-chiminy is a new idea to me .