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Crazy how the Americans try to create "zero energy homes" (whatever that means) using basically wood structures. Wood is a very, very bad heat insulator. The b

Crazy how the Americans try to create "zero energy homes" (whatever that means) using basically wood structures. Wood is a very, very bad heat insulator. The best proven heat insulator when it comes to building a home is earth itself, that's why for hundreds to thousands of years dug-out huts have been the norm on several continents, for different cultures/civilisations. Granted, you cannot build a macmansion-like house using only earth+some wood.

Baeocystin 4y ago
Almost half of Americans live in an earthquake zone. Wood is a hell of a lot safer than masonry or rammed earth in such conditions.
- gtop3 4y ago
  It's very reasonable to build a masonry structure that is safe in a large earth quake. They are however more likely to suffer major damage during an earthquake. Wood framed houses are less likely to be damaged, and have much cheaper repairs when they are damaged.
- paganel 4y ago
  > Almost half of Americans live in an earthquake zone Apart from CA and maybe some other parts further North where is that earthquake zone? Seriously asking.
  - Baeocystin 4y ago
    A lot more of the continent than most people think! Further reading: https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/nearly-half-americans-exposed-potentially-damaging-earthquakes https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/nearly-half-america...
  - farzy 4y ago
    https://www.mtu.edu/geo/community/seismology/learn/earthquakes-midwest-east/ https://www.mtu.edu/geo/community/seismology/learn/earthquak...
turtlebits 4y ago
Earth isn't a great insulator either, which is why insulation is used. Earth is good for thermal mass, which is another thing.
- paganel 4y ago
  Yeah, maybe I used the wrong word, as I'm not a native English speaker, I meant it as good at keeping the heat in during winter and the cold air also in during summer. And for that the houses made (partially) out of earth itself are pretty good. You have to be careful not to allow water infiltrations, but other than that those houses are pretty durable, even against earthquakes (my grandpa from my mother's side used to live in one).
sbierwagen 4y ago
>The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake (Postal romanization: Shensi), known in Chinese colloquially by its regnal year as the Jiajing Great Earthquake "嘉靖大地震" (Jiājìng Dàdìzhèn) occurred in the early morning of 23 January 1556 in Huaxian, Shaanxi during the Ming dynasty. >Most of the residents there lived in yaodongs—artificial caves in loess cliffs—which collapsed and buried alive those sleeping inside. Modern estimates put the direct deaths from the earthquake at over 100,000, while over 700,000 migrated away or died from famine and plagues, which summed up to a total loss of 830,000 people in Imperial records.[3][4][5] It was the deadliest recorded earthquake in history, and in turn one of the deadliest natural disasters in Chinese history.[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1556_Shaanxi_earthquake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1556_Shaanxi_earthquake You might also ask people in Turkey, where at least 50,000 people have died so far, what they think of masonry structures.

Baeocystin 4y ago

Almost half of Americans live in an earthquake zone. Wood is a hell of a lot safer than masonry or rammed earth in such conditions.

gtop3 4y ago
It's very reasonable to build a masonry structure that is safe in a large earth quake. They are however more likely to suffer major damage during an earthquake. Wood framed houses are less likely to be damaged, and have much cheaper repairs when they are damaged.
paganel 4y ago
> Almost half of Americans live in an earthquake zone Apart from CA and maybe some other parts further North where is that earthquake zone? Seriously asking.
- Baeocystin 4y ago
  A lot more of the continent than most people think! Further reading: https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/nearly-half-americans-exposed-potentially-damaging-earthquakes https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/nearly-half-america...
- farzy 4y ago
  https://www.mtu.edu/geo/community/seismology/learn/earthquakes-midwest-east/ https://www.mtu.edu/geo/community/seismology/learn/earthquak...

turtlebits 4y ago

Earth isn't a great insulator either, which is why insulation is used. Earth is good for thermal mass, which is another thing.

paganel 4y ago
Yeah, maybe I used the wrong word, as I'm not a native English speaker, I meant it as good at keeping the heat in during winter and the cold air also in during summer. And for that the houses made (partially) out of earth itself are pretty good. You have to be careful not to allow water infiltrations, but other than that those houses are pretty durable, even against earthquakes (my grandpa from my mother's side used to live in one).

sbierwagen 4y ago

>The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake (Postal romanization: Shensi), known in Chinese colloquially by its regnal year as the Jiajing Great Earthquake "嘉靖大地震" (Jiājìng Dàdìzhèn) occurred in the early morning of 23 January 1556 in Huaxian, Shaanxi during the Ming dynasty. >Most of the residents there lived in yaodongs—artificial caves in loess cliffs—which collapsed and buried alive those sleeping inside. Modern estimates put the direct deaths from the earthquake at over 100,000, while over 700,000 migrated away or died from famine and plagues, which summed up to a total loss of 830,000 people in Imperial records.[3][4][5] It was the deadliest recorded earthquake in history, and in turn one of the deadliest natural disasters in Chinese history.[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1556_Shaanxi_earthquake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1556_Shaanxi_earthquake You might also ask people in Turkey, where at least 50,000 people have died so far, what they think of masonry structures.