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Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw (usually wheat [2] straw) as structural elements, building insulation, or both. This construction method is commonly used in natural building or "brown" construction projects.
The Straw Bale House, 1994). Using a straw bale in-fill sandwich roof greatly increases the R value. This compares very favorably with the R-19 (RSI-3.35) of a conventional 2 x 6 insulated wall. When using straw bales for construction, the bales must be tightly-packed and allowed to dry out sufficiently.
When baled, straw has moderate insulation characteristics (about R-1.5/inch according to Oak Ridge National Lab and Forest Product Lab testing). It can be used, alone or in a post-and-beam construction, to build straw bale houses. When bales are used to build or insulate buildings, the straw bales are commonly finished with earthen plaster.
Adobe bricks made of clay, sand and straw, similar to cob, have long been used in the Southwest. More recently, hay bale houses have been constructed with walls made of insulating straw and a ...
Straw bales perform at about R-2.38 to 2.68 per inch, depending on orientation of the bales. [42] However, typical straw bale houses have very thick walls and thus are well insulated. Snow is roughly R-1 per inch. Brick has a very poor insulating ability at a mere R-0.2 per inch; however it does have a relatively good thermal mass.
Straw provides excellent insulation and fire resistance in a traditional post-and-beam structure, where a wood frame supports the house. [3] These straw walls are about 75% more energy efficient than standard drywall and because no oxygen can get through the walls, fire cannot spread and there is no chance of combustion. [citation needed]