Environmental Benefits
Why renewable building materials?
The following startling statistics highlight how modern construction techniques place heavy demands on resources;
- 50% of all raw materials are used in construction
- 10% of total energy used in the UK is embodied in construction materials
- 8% of global pollution is attributable to the cement industry.
Recent analysis has shown that the use of non-renewable resources for construction in the UK is three times the sustainable rate. In other words we will need three planets if we are to carry on consuming in this fashion.
Why straw?
Straw is a locally available, plentiful material which can be used to create a beautiful, yet practical and comfortable homes that have a minimal impact on the environment in which we all live.
Building with straw bales is not a new concept. Some of the oldest known straw bale buildings still in use today include houses built in France in 1921 and Nebraska, USA in 1925.
The straw is usually weatherproofed with a breathable material such as lime render. An overhanging roof and high foundations are also essential to provide maximum protection for the walls.
The benefits of straw bales are many and varied;
- locally available
- renewable material
- non toxic
- low embodied energy
- acts as a carbon store
- reduces the material requirement – it is the building block, the insulation and the surface for plaster
- vapour permeability allows moisture to evaporate
- very high level of thermal insulation (u = 0.19 for standard bales) keeping the building warm in winter and cool in summer
- plastered straw bale walls are very airtight
- excellent sound insulation
- more than adequate results in worldwide testing for fire resistance, compression, racking and wind load
- user friendly – light enough to carry, easy to shape, quick to build
- adaptable and creative
- socially inclusive and empowering
- biodegradable at end of use
- plastered straw bale walls minimise electro magnetic radiation
To read more about building with straw bales, “Building with Straw Bales – A Practical Guide for the UK and Ireland” by Barbara Jones is highly recommended and “The Beauty of Straw Bale Homes” by Athena and Bill Steen contains many inspirational pictures of straw bale homes around the world.
Why renewable energy?
The majority of scientists now agree that rising global temperatures are attributable to human induced greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide and mainly produced by the combustion of fossil fuels for energy use.
Urgent action is needed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to limit significant changes in the world’s climate system and their serious consequences for humanity.
However, households are consuming ever increasing amounts of energy;
- 29% of UK delivered energy is consumed in the domestic sector
- domestic energy consumption has increased by nearly 10 million tonnes of oil equivalent in the last 20 years
Therefore, a greater understanding by the public of energy use, energy conservation and the contribution renewables can make to energy generation at a local level is essential to reverse the current trend.
A recent report by the Sustainable Consumption Roundtable highlights the profound effect that personal experience of micro generation can have. It is “convinced that significant and sustained progress will not be made towards the UK’s carbon reduction targets without actively harnessing consumer concern and converting it into action. The challenge is to raise people’s use of energy in the home from the subconscious to the conscious and enable them to feel part of the solution”
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