Aug 09 2008
Q: Wood Frame vs. Straw Bale Home Construction: Which is More Sustainable?
Q: I have heard that straw bale homes are far greener than wood frame. My husband and I are retiring and planning to build a home in Vermont. We are considering straw bale. Do you think that this is what we should do? What are the differences between wood and straw?
Candace, VT
A: Candace,
What a great question to kick off this Q&A session! The problem with the question is that there is no clear answer, but there is a discussion we can have about “the sustainability of wood and straw bale construction, where the materials come from, the consequences of harvesting the materials, and the benefits and restrictions associated with each.” There are a surprising number of consequences of straw bale construction that people do not consider, purely because they do not second guess that it is a green building technique.
Both types of construction can be carried out in green ways. Location is key to determining if wood or straw bale is more appropriate for your site. Please see ThinkDwell’s WOOD vs. STRAW BALE page for detailed information regarding specifics. Hopefully this will help you gain more knowledge and determine what is the best choice for your home.
Check out more Q&A posts .
Wow. Thank you. I really appreciate the information laid out at your ThinkDwell website. I had not thought about all the repercussions associated with straw.
Wood Frame vs. Straw Bale Home Construction: Which is More Sustainable?
Well that a great question. I feel that both are poor over the long haul. There is a new breed of Green Sustainable Building Systems.
http://StyrohomeNews.blogspot.com
Ergo, while I appreciate your involvement in the discussion, we do not promote the widespread use of Styrofoam. Expanded polystyrene (aka styrofoam) is a toxic material that lasts 900 years+ in landfills (and that is only our estimation, because we still have not seen styrofoam decay naturally yet).
While both straw bale and wood construction use energy and resources, our outlook at ThinkDwell is that using these natural materials (not man-made ones) is far better than using ones that have a distinct reputation for cluttering landfills and coast lines. The creation of styrofoam is not a natural process, so by creating this chemical at a faster rate than we currently are is inadvisable. In fact, most responsible businesses are trying to greatly reduce the amount of Styrofoam they use. One of our new projects, http://www.gofoamfree.com, encourages businesses to think responsibly and to consider the effects of the effects of the effects of their business- not only those that are associated with the product they directly produce, but those that are associated with the services they hire, the production of the materials they use, and the disposal of these materials.
SIPs are an efficient way of building, and the most sustainable/ecofriendly version we know of is made from straw. It’s compressed using a lot of pressure and made into a very strong panel with great insulating/fire protection properties.
Who makes compressed straw sips?
Did we find out who makes the straw sips??
Yup! Get some information at http://www.thinkdwell.com/blog/q-what-are-sips-are-they-green/
How do you deal with electircal and plumbing change from frame to straw bale homes?
What are the fire risks to straw bale homes.
With a lot of hot summers predicted with global warming what are the chances of straw bale homes spontainessly combusting.