The 3rd-year team was tasked with creating a passive heating, cooling, and ventilation system for the storehouse on Rural Studio’s Morrisette Campus. An earth tube and solar chimney combination was chosen as the most efficient system to take advantage of the low diurnal swings and the hot humid climate. With some help from consultants, the team optimized the exchange to create a temperature difference between the interior and exterior of 15 degrees Farenheit. Following a thorough design process, the team went on to build and install the proposed system. This construction included digging a 70-foot-long, 12-foot-deep trench, assembling nearly 120 feet of HDPE double wall pipe, and raising a 10-foot-tall solar chimney.
A passive heating, cooling, and ventilation system
