Avoiding air conditioning?

[Tex]

We have hot Summers and mild Winters in my part of Texas. I plan to build super insulated and/or earth bermed. In order to provide enough electricity, I need to find a way around conventional air conditioning. It is too humid here for evaporative coolers. What are my options?

I will have large overhangs and clerestory windows for natural cooling when possible. I've considered digging a long trench and putting a duct in it to cool outside air(or recirculated air) before it reaches the house. I friend of mine set up a coil in the bottom of his stock tank for a heat exchanger. I'm still 10 years from building, since I don't want to drag my kids out of their schools. This house will be built for my retirement.(at least life after kids move out)

[ke4sky]

Excavate and build most of your living space below grade and have your garage and barn above it. The house should be cool in the summer and easy to heat in the winter. A friend in SD lives in a converted former missle silo and has space for an indoor shooting range and to work on his farm equipment indoors when the cold winds blow. Good protection from tornadoes too. Presuming here that in your part of TX shallow water table would not be a problem...

See:
http://www.subsurfacebuildings.com/T...aBuilding.html

[threadfather]

How does one end up living in a former missile silo?

[Dean]

You can buy the missile silos actually; Missile Bases :: 20th Century Castles, Unique underground properties.

I don't think I could ever live underground unless it was an emergency situation.

[Tex]

I like the missile silo homes. I don't want anything quite so big though.

My dad frames custom homes. In 1985, he framed the inside of an underground home. It was earth bermed, with only one wall exposed. The roof was two feet thick concrete with an opening for a clerestory window for passive cooling. The only structure visible from the street looked like an 8x12 storage building that housed the clerestory windows. It was about 2000 s.f. and cost about $130k to build in 1980s $.

The original owner sold the place to somebody who worked where I did about 10 years ago. I'm thinking I should look them up and ask them some questions.

I'm probably looking at building at least partially underground. I will keep that in mind when I start looking for land. I'm hoping to find some land that has no utilities ran to it. It should keep the price down when buying the land. I don't know if I want my solar panels visible from the street or not. I'll have to take that into consideration, as well as water table, wind data, and tree shading and wind blockage. I'm hoping to have the land mostly paid for before I sell my current home.

[Big B]

thought;
if you want a berm house, it is best built on a sloped piece of land, this land is cheaper than flat land and will save you money.......

[dunappy]

Don't forget shade trees. Use alot of decidious trees on the South and west side so that in the summer they will shade out the sun and in the winter will allow for passive solar heating. Use anything that will work on the North and east sides.

And a green roof and a roof vent.

http://www.epa.gov/hiri/strategies/greenroofs.html

[JeepHammer]

Earth Shelter, great way to do things!

Passive Solar with 'Green' cover.
You know, those trellis looking things over the patios and porches that vines and stuff grow on.

Passive Solar with THERMAL MASS.
South West, Dry conditions, Hot days, chilly nights,
Thick, Solid, windowless walls facing the South & West.
Thick walls of masonry or earth pack absorb the heat all day, keeping it out of the house,
Then they release the heat into the home all night.

Passive Solar with Shading,
South East, Damp conditions, lots of humidity,
Well insulated walls facing the South and West.
Windows high up used as vents in the daytime.
Porches extending far enough out to shade the walls of the home in the summer, but short enough to let the sun warm the walls in the winter when the sun is lower in the sky.

LOTS AND LOTS OF INSULATION!
Insulation is the fastest 100% payback you can do!

For DRY climates, consider Cooling Towers.
Water sprayed into a 'Tower' to humidify the air and therefor drop it's temprature so it 'Falls' into the home.
Sort of a 'Poor Mans' air conditioning.
Large buildings in the south west use this a lot with water recovery pan at the bottom, and solar cells to run the pumps.
Turns it's self on in the morning, turns it's self off at dark.

GEO THERMAL HEAT PUMPS!
Bury as much tubing as you can, as deep as you can!
This makes 'Heating/Cooling' in moderation VERY cheap.

[BobS]

Originally Posted by Tex

We have hot Summers and mild Winters in my part of Texas. I plan to build super insulated and/or earth bermed. In order to provide enough electricity, I need to find a way around conventional air conditioning. It is too humid here for evaporative coolers. What are my options?

I will have large overhangs and clerestory windows for natural cooling when possible. I've considered digging a long trench and putting a duct in it to cool outside air(or recirculated air) before it reaches the house. I friend of mine set up a coil in the bottom of his stock tank for a heat exchanger. I'm still 10 years from building, since I don't want to drag my kids out of their schools. This house will be built for my retirement.(at least life after kids move out)

Your options are faily open:

Robur propane and/or natural gas HVAC Robur Natural Gas Residnetial Air Conditioning Technology (one of the mfgrs of this type of equipment)

Heat pump heating systems and cooling systems - Robur Robur's website for HVAC

WaterFurnace - Smarter from the Ground Up™ Mfgr website of geothermal systems - WaterFurnace, Inc

There are others in addition. Look into the home design (Arabic wind towers, for example Windcatcher - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

Best regards,

Bob

[Dr. Prepared]

Shade from trees is a great natural way to stay cool! Plant some trees out there!