 Building with the Earth and the Sun
Rammed Earth and Adobe
We of Micander Construction, use two of the ways to build with earth- Rammed Earth and Adobe Brick. They both contain clay and water but have differences in texture and ratios of
the basic contents.
 |
Rammed Earth is soil with the right amount of clay, silt, sand, gravel with a small amount of water added to it.
The dampened soil is then compacted into a form. The compacted soil becomes so hard that it is difficult to drive a
nail into it. |
|
Adobe brick are made from the same soil mixture as Rammed Earth, but they have additional amounts of water and clay.
This soil mixture is placed in a mold and left to dry. Adobe bricks must dry completely to become hard, whereas the Rammed Earth is hard as soon as it is compacted. |
Passive Solar Design Advantages
Sunlight warms the earth. One cubic foot of earth holds twenty (20) BTUs of heat. At ten feet, ground temperatures vary only seven (7) degrees throughout the year, averaging 62
degrees in the Las Cruces area. In Micander Homes:
|
Thick earth walls capture the sun's heat with mass-
there are no moving parts to maintain, as in active solar systems. The sun's heat is slowly absorbed during the day, reaching and warming the interior during the night. |
|
Overhangs keep out summer heat -
homes are further designed to cool passively through natural convection and strategic placement of windows, doors and roof vents. |
Energy Efficiencies
Typical Solar Gain Windows John Micander's personal home not shown built in 1975 was heated with sunlight ONLY for
the first three (3) years, yet the internal temperature never dropped below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In the summer, temperatures never exceeded 85 degrees Fahrenheit. This
home and other Micander Construction, Inc., homes built since then, require very little backup electric or gas energy to bring average interior temperature to a comfortable
range. Testing done on these homes (2000 square feet on average, with wells) indicates total annual energy cost of $700 to $900. 
|
