how to incorporate passive cooling in Texas

[Captn]

OK .... we're in the planning stage for the log house ... and so many concepts are running through my head.

We're negotiating with a mason friend on building a masonry heater for the cabin in place of a wood stove but I'm trying to incorporate some passive heating and cooling into the mix.

I'm considering radiant floor heating and wondered if anyone on here had used the same setup for cooling?

We live in Texas, so passive solar heating wouldn't be a problem (our south facing bedroom could heat the whole house when the sun shines during the winter, no problem, with just one picture window. But passive cooling I see as a much larger problem.
Without an earth bermed house what is the best way to incorporate passive cooling, especially in a hot and humid environment?

[rreidnauer]

Using radiant floor tubing for cooling won't work. All you'll end up with is a wet floor, as anything cooler than the ambient air will condensate. On top of that, any cooling effect would be minuscule. (remember, hot moves to cold, so all you'd do is draw heat into the floor, and the room temperature would remain the same)
You are building in Houston, right? Houston's humidity rules out swamp coolers.
One method (and one I will likely be using) is earth tube cooling, and requires little more than a circulation fan. This is a true geo-thermal system, not to be mistaken for geothermal heatpumps. You would run several loops of pipe throughout the ground of your property and draw air through the pipes. Warmer air from the home will give it's heat to the cooler pipes and return slightly cooler and less humid air back to the home. How effective it would be is determined by many factors including, ground temperatures, moisture levels in the soil, number, depth and length of tubes, insulating values of the home, air exchange rate, etc. It may not work for your location. The one thing I know you have to watch out for if you attempt this method, is to properly pitch the pipes so they drain out condensation water. You don't want pooling in the pipes, as it exposes you to the possibility of Legionnaires disease. Also, it's not always a cheap option, considering the amount of excavation work required.
Another method I've thought about (but won't work for you) is to pump cool water from a stream/pond/lake through a radiator, with a fan to draw air though it. You'd have to catch and drain off condensation, and you'd want a radiator with vertical fins for the most efficient draining of condesation.
Shade trees is the simplest method of passive cooling. I've experienced temperature differences as much as 15 degrees in a forest versus out in the open. I realize you won't have yourself a forest to live in, but planting trees on the South side will benefit you in years to come.
None of these systems will be anywhere near as effective as a refrigerant based system, but they can provide as least supplemental benefits.

[loghousenut]

I spent 8 very long years in the Houston area. The only passive cooling I found happened in February. How can anyplace that is so hot and muggy be soooooo darned cold when it is cold? Don't say it... I already know it is the humidity but MAN I was cold a couple of times out there on that drilling rig with the wind whipping over Galveston Bay.... Mark, have you ever thought of a move to a less hostile environment?

[jrdavis]

I just read some articles on Mother Earth News about "MY Mothers House" and they had some things that would work.
There was talk about cooling in the Arizona area.... so that might be of help.
My Mothers House Part 4 and Part 5.
I will be trying some of them in the Midwest when I get around to building also.
James.

[btwalls]

Not sure if this will help but try this website
<a href="http://www.mb-soft.com/solar/intake.html">http://www.mb-soft.com/solar/intake.html</a>

Brad
Purchased Land,survey done , drafting and engineering done. Looking desperately for logs and waiting for permits.

[Captn]

Actually, we are building in a forest .... our land was previously owned by a logging company that is adjacent to the Sam Houston National Forest .... still gets hotter than blue blazes, however in the great piney forests of Texas with humidity so thick that you can hardly breathe at times.
I had thought about a Earth Tube system, however, with such a low water table I can't see being able to drain the pipe effectively without some type of sump pumping system let alone keep the pipe dry.

[Captn]

I spent 8 very long years in the Houston area. The only passive cooling I found happened in February. How can anyplace that is so hot and muggy be soooooo darned cold when it is cold? Don't say it... I already know it is the humidity but MAN I was cold a couple of times out there on that drilling rig with the wind whipping over Galveston Bay.... Mark, have you ever thought of a move to a less hostile environment?

Less Hostile? I spent 40 years in Northwest Indiana ... Winter there was a LOT more hostile than summer in Houston!
Actually ... we're considering building another cabin back up north in Indiana/Michigan for the summers after we retire in 4 years ..... I can't think of a better way to beat the heat of Houston.

[Perry525]

Perry525
There is a move towards fixing water filled copper pipes just below the ceiling - the logic is cold falls.
Couple this with a large tank full of cold water under the cabin and you have a temperature drop, the underground water should be arround the 52f mark, so there is a useful differential, if you have a local stream you could divert running water into the tank to loose the eventual heat gain.

[panderson03]

I imagine that in some locations this would work well, but I am afraid that where I live (MN) its way too humid and would result in my being 'rained on' all day long as the water in the air condensed on to the cool copper pipes and would drip continuously on my head! LOL:)