This class will explore various super-insulation strategies - examining the pros and cons of each - but will focus on the one the instructor has found to meet all the criteria for a sustainable and healthy building system. These include: conventional construction, efficient use of forest resources and recycled material, minimal use of non-renewables, uninterrupted thermal blanket, breathable, fire/insect/rodent/mildew resistant, healthy indoor environment, and cost-effective. This system is the modified Larsen truss system using native lumber, cellulose insulation and passive solar design. A moderate-sized home can be heated with less than a cord of wood per year, with about half the heat load supplied by the sun. Such a house is uniformly comfortable and quiet in the winter, naturally cool in the summer, and well-ventilated without high-tech equipment.

This will be a hands-on class helping to build the thermal envelope of a small off-grid cabin. In addition to the daily field work on the project, the class will explore the principles of heat loss and heat gain in building envelopes, the characteristics of insulation materials and insulation systems and their effects on the living environment. You will learn to perform a heat-loss analysis on a wall section and an entire house plan and calculate the solar and internal gains from passive strategies. We will consider the embodied energy of building materials as well as their contribution to future energy savings, health effects of materials and design, the importance of ventilation both inside and outside the thermal envelope, and the efficient use of forest products in building design and construction. You will have an opportunity to design either energy details or an entire building envelope and enjoy the benefit of feedback from both students and instructor. Some familiarity with carpentry and building fundamentals is helpful but not required.

42 Learning Units

Concentration in Sustainable Building and Design