[Strawbale] Re: Glass bottle insulation and ISBBC 2004

[Faas, W.]

Dear Rikki,

I don't think glass bottles make very good thermal
insulators. This is because of two reasons:

1. Glass has a high thermal conductivity -> thermal
bridges;
2. The air in a bottle will probably start flowing with
temperature differences -> convection which transfers more
heat from warm to cold.

If you really insist of using glass bottles and don't mind
still getting a bad performance, I'd smash the bottles and
put down a layer of shards, add an airscreen to prevent
airflow through the construction, put down another layer of
shards, etc. Personally, I'd spend just a little more money
(and probably less effort!) and lay down a proper layers of
airtight insulation material. But then again, I'm in cold
Holland and if I remember correctly you're in warm Spain,
right? So you probably don't need as much insulation as we
need here.

About the ISBBC: Last year in beautifull Denmark, there
were plans to organise the next ISBBC in Canada somewhere
in the autumn (after the baling-season). Although that's
still a year away, I'm curious as to wether or not people
have been brainstorming/thinking about it already.

Cheers,


Walter Faas