Grantee Research Project Results
Comparing the Sustainability of a Compressed Earth Block House to a Conventionally Framed House Built to National Green Building Standards
EPA Grant Number: SU835289Title: Comparing the Sustainability of a Compressed Earth Block House to a Conventionally Framed House Built to National Green Building Standards
Investigators: Holliday, Lisa M. , Butko, Daniel J. , McManus, Bill , Graham, Charles , Williams, Scott
Current Investigators: Holliday, Lisa M. , Graham, Charles , Butko, Daniel J. , Williams, Scott , Crandall, Aaron , Sivuilu, Herve , DeFreitas, Kyle , Snow, Holly , Mall, Peter , Curtis, Stephen , Frame, Michael , Waddle, Jesse , Kincanon, Kymber , Palmer, Jared , Huor, David
Institution: University of Oklahoma
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Phase: II
Project Period: August 15, 2012 through August 14, 2014 (Extended to February 14, 2015)
Project Amount: $89,721
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2012) Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Description:
This project will allow a multi-disciplinary team of students to construct, instrument, analyze, and document a Habitat for Humanity (HFH) house built of compressed earth blocks (CEB). This house will be built adjacent to a new conventional frame house built to National Green Building Standards, which will also be instrumented and monitored. Attributes of the two houses relating to all aspects of sustainability as defined by the National Green Building Standard will be compared. The results will be distributed to Habitat for Humanity International, their affiliates, and other interested parties worldwide.
Objective:
The objective of this multi-phase research project is to produce new knowledge and develop best practices for the CEB construction process that will enable broad implementation of CEB technology in domestic and international housing construction. The CEB construction methods are comparatively simple for individuals and social organizations that rely on volunteer labor, i.e. Habitat for Humanity. CEBs are inherently sustainable, economical, and energy efficient; they require little energy to produce, conserve natural resources, virtually eliminate landfill waste, and reduce energy consumption required for residential heating and cooling. CEBs have been proven structurally sound, even in earthquake prone areas, with the appropriate modifications. If CEB construction can be successfully demonstrated to be a viable residential construction solution in Oklahoma (harsh winters, hot summers, and strong winds), then it will be viable for almost any location in the developed or developing world.
Approach:
To examine this hypothesis, the team has partnered with CCHFH to build a single-family residence using CEBs as load-bearing walls adjacent to a recently built CCHFH house constructed of wood framing. The team chose to use this existing house as the control house not only because it is newly constructed, but also because it was built according to high standards for sustainability as defined by the National Green Building Standards (NGBS). The CEB house will be nearly identical to the control house in layout, area, and inhabitable volume. Both houses will be rigorously evaluated by the research team and outside agencies to compare sustainable features. In addition to these initial tests, both houses will be instrumented and monitored over time for structural performance, energy consumption, thermal properties, indoor air quality, and acoustical criteria. Based on the findings, CCHFH also plans to build a third residence that will be optimized for CEBs, using the knowledge of design and construction learned from this project.
Expected Results:
Expected results are: 1) a comparison of two houses including energy use of both houses, material comparisons defining carbon footprint and embodied energy and 2) document of best practices.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 11 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Earthen Construction,Relevant Websites:
Phase 1 AbstractProgress and Final Reports:
P3 Phase I:
Comparing the Sustainability of a Compressed Earth Block House to a Conventionally Framed House Built to National Green Building Standards | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.