Water pools to keep cool ( no A/C )

[Snax]

One of the problems that people have with the earth tubes is condensation and mold formation. Over time, they probably end up getting really gnarly inside. Perhaps somebody has found a way around this but I suspect one could get away with it much better in a very dry climate. It would probably be best to close them off when the humidty goes up.

Thermal mass is a terrific resource for temperature regulation though. There are some passive heating and cooling designers that have gone so far as to encase tubes of water within walls for it's high heat absorbtion, reducing the rate of temperature swings inside the building. Other solutions are overbuilt concrete or masonry inner walls - often incorporated with careful solar design.

[Christ]

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[elhigh]

I was going to say what Snax said - earth tubes, while effective, get gross before long.

I've had this idea but haven't followed up on it - burying a couple hundred feet of plastic pipe and pumping water through the pipe would cool the water off, then run the water through a water-air heat exchanger somewhere in your house or in your HVAC loop. It doesn't even have to be connected to your AC system, it could just be one of those things that's there to temper the air temperature. It could, conceivably, do a fair amount of cooling without having to resort to your conventional AC at all.

Now, before anybody flames me on lousy heat conductivity of plastic pipe - I know! And yet, it works well enough. And do you really want to take out a second mortgage for a similar length of copper? For what you pay for copper, you can lay out enough plastic pipe to cool yourself, and a neighbor on either side.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by elhigh

I was going to say what Snax said - earth tubes, while effective, get gross before long.

I've had this idea but haven't followed up on it - burying a couple hundred feet of plastic pipe and pumping water through the pipe would cool the water off, then run the water through a water-air heat exchanger somewhere in your house or in your HVAC loop. It doesn't even have to be connected to your AC system, it could just be one of those things that's there to temper the air temperature. It could, conceivably, do a fair amount of cooling without having to resort to your conventional AC at all.

Now, before anybody flames me on lousy heat conductivity of plastic pipe - I know! And yet, it works well enough. And do you really want to take out a second mortgage for a similar length of copper? For what you pay for copper, you can lay out enough plastic pipe to cool yourself, and a neighbor on either side.

I'm using a similar concept in place of A/C in my home - I'm going to run gravity-fed artesian water through a car radiator, with a fan and shroud behind it, blowing the cool air created by the water flow through the HVAC system of the house. That, combined with sufficient insulation, a living roof, and foam insulated floors, should be enough to cool the entire house without much issue.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by Christ

I'm using a similar concept in place of A/C in my home - I'm going to run gravity-fed artesian water through a car radiator, with a fan and shroud behind it, blowing the cool air created by the water flow through the HVAC system of the house. That, combined with sufficient insulation, a living roof, and foam insulated floors, should be enough to cool the entire house without much issue.

I've got an uncle with an earth-sheltered house and I am going to share some of his hard-earned wisdom with you:

Be damned positive about your waterproofing. If you think reroofing is a pain, try having to excavate your roof before you can even start the roofing work.

[gone-ot]

...back in the late 1950's, there was an automotive "evaporative cooler" sold that clipped onto a rolled-up window like drive-in hamberger/soda trays did, and used a pull-string & coiled spring to rotate a 1-inch thick, 6-8 inch diameter, cylinder of aspen excelsior wood padding through a 3-4 inch puddle of water.

...it worked GREAT as long as: (1) you were moving at 30+ mph and (2) the ambient humidity was low.

...used NO engine power, not even electricity, but DID present a BIG airflow footprint. It was all metal and weighed a TON.

...I imagine today an all plastic unit would be VERY easy to build.

...for the house & home, just get a swamp cooler!

[Christ]

Originally Posted by elhigh

I've got an uncle with an earth-sheltered house and I am going to share some of his hard-earned wisdom with you:

Be damned positive about your waterproofing. If you think reroofing is a pain, try having to excavate your roof before you can even start the roofing work.

Oh, I plan on it... I don't want to have to excavate behind the house to stop water from coming in the walls, since it's a masonry home.

Actually, I plan on digging back further than I need to, building the first (retainer) wall, then putting up membrane and felt-backed protection board, then back filling with crushed stone, for proper drainage.

Outsulation gets placed against the retaining wall, then the block wall gets put up in front of that.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by Christ

Oh, I plan on it... I don't want to have to excavate behind the house to stop water from coming in the walls, since it's a masonry home.

Actually, I plan on digging back further than I need to, building the first (retainer) wall, then putting up membrane and felt-backed protection board, then back filling with crushed stone, for proper drainage.

Outsulation gets placed against the retaining wall, then the block wall gets put up in front of that.

That sounds like it ought to do it. I've seen a concept for an earth-sheltered house that took the insulation and waterproofing envelope WAAAY WAAAY out from the perimeter of the actual house. The idea was to provide lots and lots of buffer space against moisture migration, and add tremendously to the thermal inertia of the home. Once you get it to a comfortable temperature (preferably by low-cost solar heating or radiant cooling means), it stays there for months.

I like my house. It's kind of quaint, it has a bit of history. But the utility bills come in and I just want to pile a few hundred cubic yards of dirt on top of it.

Good luck man, it sounds like fun.

[Christ]

I plan on thermally circulating about 500 gallons of fluid through the floors on a thermostatic valve, using "Sun Tanks". Kinda like solar water heaters, but on a much larger scale, since we don't have the best sun access. But, the house is shaded all summer, and open to sunlight all winter. It's a great compromise.

[busypaws]

I live out in Tucson and we have "Evaporative coolers" or Swamp Coolers on our house. Evaporates water in a sponge and pulls air through it and into the house. Keeps the house 25-30 degrees cooler then outside (100F) but only when the humidity is below 15%. Once the outside humidity increases it doesn't work.
So when moding my car I pulled the whole AC out. Pulled the exchanger behind the glove box. Put a sponge from a swamp cooler in the container/ and ran a small hose and put a funnel on the dash. Now need cool air. I put a cup of water in my funnel and turn on the fan. Cool air.