[Strawbale] International Strawbale Homeowner Monitoring and Data-gathering Project (was Re: Moisture sensor redux

[Rob Tom]

On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 01:45:51 -0400, Mark Bigland-Pritchard  
<mark at lowenergydesign.com> wrote:

>
> So how about an international monitoring programme specifically for
> temperate maritime climates, using a standardised methodology.  
> And we also need a lot more pinning down of straw properties -
> mycological growth thresholds, thermal capacity, enthalpy of sorption,
> vapour permeability, air permeability, etc.

Hmmm... didn't we try this before when you were doing your thesis and the  
response was pathetically non-existent ?

Notwithstanding what they say about people who repeat the same actions  
over and over again expecting a different result each time (insane) I'd  
love to see an international monitoring program and I don't care what sort  
of sensors are used, or if sensors are used at all (ie the weighed sample  
method would be perfectly acceptable).

I wouldn't limit it just to maritime climates though.
They may be one of the more interesting climates (from a moisture  
perspective) but it would be useful to potential SBH owners to see data  
relating to their own climes, maritime or not.

And I'd like to see the data posted at a website on an on-going basis with  
the homeowners putting up the monitoring data on their own, in a  
predetermined standard format (ie spreadsheet) so as to make collation and  
analysis quick and easy.

This would seem to suggest that a Yahoogroups site would be well-suited to  
the task.

I would offer the SB-r-us site for the project but I think that we are  
already stretching the allotted memory so I have just created a new site  
at:


Group name: 	 	SB_Nerds-r-Us
Group home page: 	 	http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SB_Nerds-r-Us
Group email: 	 	SB_Nerds-r-Us at yahoogroups.com
  	

and I will make you (Mark) one of the group owners (but you'll have to  
subscribe yourself first) and once that is done, I will step aside and let  
you run the day-to-day operations and let you decide how the group works.

I would suggest that discussions on the monitoring project be kept on the  
main SB Lists (except perhaps for the most nerdy technical development  
details) and use the SB_Nerds-r-Us site mainly for data storage and  
display.

One of the first things that should probably go up at the Nerds site are  
detailed descriptions of what the sensors are, the advantages of each,  
step-by-step detailed fabrication (if applicable), supply sources and  
costs,installation instructions and data-gathering/reporting  protocols  
etc. Okay that was more than one but I think you get the idea.

I would also like to see energy use (for space cooling/heating) monitoring  
data at the same site.

If such a time comes when the interest in such a project outgrows the  
resources provided by the Yahoogroups format, perhaps the monitoring  
participants would spring for a few dineros to pay for and maintain a real  
website ?

S'awright ? S'awright.


===* ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
<archilogic at chaffyahoo dot ca>
winnow the chaff from my edress in your reply