EVERYTHING You Need To Know About Our Earth Tube Zero Electric HVAC System

[@ourselfreliantlife]

Here is a link to our guide if you're interested in building an earth tube system of your own. ko-fi.com/ourselfreliantlife/shop

[@jeffcook8501]

Good evening to my FDBC Looking great. I love how you guys think outside the box. Always learning to much from you guys. Keep it up your dream home is moving right along.

[@KeepItSimpleSurvival]

Ok....Got the Answer now....why you drill holes in your pipe.....Water Drainage Holes....

[@SeeTheWholeTruth]

Yeah, I recall telling you this a few years ago is it now? Its a variation on what I told you, but its nice to see it come about!

[@solarindependentutilitysystems]

Did a really awesome job ! Author of Solar Independent Utility Systems Manual online Best wishes everyone

[@solarindependentutilitysystems]

That’s were I went wrong Drain But did have some outlet for moisture but didn’t use pvc used flex duct cause mold so it’s now a drain lol I’ll try again Good I see you guys again

[@spud1]

As a former thermal design engineer for more than 45 years, I am eager to see what air temperature and air flow rate you will observe entering into your house from the tubes. One thought is that you might consider increasing the flow rate at the tube exit by using a solar powered fan. So when the solar irradiance is highest you'll get the most assisted inflow of cool air from the tubes. Look forward to seeing your performance data.

[@MrCheaterpipe]

What kind of tubing would you recommend I'm thinking galvanized would be way more efficient as a heat exchanger than pvc or perhaps a series of old big truck intercoolers piped together in series and buried

[@rdallas81]

Thermal efficiency is made null by the length of the thin wall pipe. At 100 foot length, temperature are probably met long before the air is in the house.​@@MrCheaterpipe

[@JohnGuest45]

@@MrCheaterpipe Non perforated corrugated drainage pipe modified before installation by cutting a straight slit through the outermost edge of the corrugations. This modification prevents water collecting in the bottom of every corrugation. The holes or slots in perforated drainage tubing are designed to let water into the pipe, but not out. Corrugated pipe has roughly twice the surface area for heat exchange as a standard round pipe the same size and length. Its much stronger than thin wall pvc due to the ribs and costs a lot less.

[@spud1]

@@rdallas81 Totally agree. Especially since I think the air flow rate is going to be very low. The natural convection "chimney effect" (driving force for the air flow) for the vertical stack at the house has to overcome the pressure drop for the 100 ft pipe length. The air flow needed to keep the house cool will be primarily determined by how well insulated the house living space is from the external hot ambient air and solar load. With the proper instrumentation (temperature, air flow rate, pressure drop) they have an ideal test bed for characterizing this type of system.

[@JohnGuest45]

@@rdallas81 Four 25ft tubes will outperform a 100ft tube.

[@kaqs8994]

Jess has such a pleasing voice, a natural teacher. Thank you for the great videos!

[@doncollins786]

Jess has become a Professional Hostess/Narrator!

[@markbrown6236]

And to think she was so shy and hesitant a couple of years ago. Well done Jessica.

[@Eleventyseven9228]

As someone who is both lucky and cursed (people have said I have 9 lives because I am still alive, but at the same time I have used up more than all 9 of them), the open trench work scares me sooo much. I’m relieved and thankful you had no incidents. To any viewers considering doing this please be very careful and do some research on trench safety. Do what you can from outside of the trench, and use adequate shoring. It’s no joke and I’m not being a worry-wart. You can rent shoring equipment. It adds cost but is worth it to be safe. Sorry for being a wet rag. Great video and you are an impressive team!

[@matthewsocal2540]

30 years critical infrastructure engineer and risk management specialist. I agree 100% with this comment. Please people, research shoring before climbing into a trench. If you don't live in a desert area, you're soil is not hard clay which is why this trench did not collapse on these workers. If this was anywhere that's not clay and that sized trench, it would have been a 911 call for the workers and, likely, a body recovery.

[@MegaBob222222]

I have been on jobs where people have died from cave-ins. Just sayin. One way is to dig down on the sides of the ditch a bit.

[@mattadulting]

Yeah...my OSHA card started rattling in my wallet during the opening scene...

[@Кусь-з6о]

Согласен с тобой, посмотрев только 13 сек. Очень опасно работать на траншеях такой глубины, легко может засыпать землей и человек задохнется

[@GodIsReal..]

Yes

[@Birdfarmer862]

Super job on this! Jess did a fantastic job - so clear and concise! Quite a change from her quiet and reserved nature! MAGNIFICENT JOB !

[@Ephbaum]

I do HVAC, and in the 90's, ASU did an experiment in north Phoenix with a building in the center and 3 - 24" tubes about 100' feet long buried about 6' in the ground that we helped on. They were laid out in a 12 - 4 - 8 o'clock pattern from the main building, and used very low rpm electric fans to move air through the tubes. They drew very little power. It had temperature controls so when 1 tube warmed up, it would switch to the next so the previous could cool off and so on. It would rotate between the 3 tubes. The eventual problems were the tubes warmed up too quickly, they began to stink, hold moisture, and grow mold, which could not reasonably be dealt with. Even with some drain holes they added once they identified the problem, during our humid months, (July, August, September), it wouldn't dry out completely, mold continued grow, and they could never get around the stink. After a couple of years, they gave up the experiment.

[@Kevin_D1]

@@Ephbaum Mold will be a HUGE issue.

[@wessmith27]

But it's dry desert air, it's humid in Austin. Midland, Odessa, Lubbock, San Angelo it works great.

[@Ephbaum]

@wessmith27 Yeah, right. Do you think after all of these years that this has just been discovered? If it works so well , why aren't there contractors that specialize in these systems? You think everybody's just stupid? Lol

[@grahamswett6430]

I’ve heard of people using pipes that are coated with colloidal silver to mitigate the mold growth. This is a known issue with earth tubes as far back as the ‘70’s…..

[@drewgray1458]

I was thinking how maybe I could use lay out the pipe in a serpentine to get 100' of tube in my lot, but I think an advantage of their system is in a straight line, they could pull a bleach mop through the pipe to quickly and easily clean out the system, like a Bore Snake for your rifle/shotgun.

[@Lee-yb2zr]

I just have to say to you Jess i couldnt watch for about 1 1/2 years and you have become more comfortable in front of the camera. ❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉

[@doneown503]

, and the transcript translation , always perfect !👍

[@jujujubees]

A noiseless cooling solution sounds like heaven to me!

[@linacabrera3172]

Hello sweethearts, do you that no snakes 🐍 can get in the tubes from those holes? Good luck May God bless you always ❤

[@linacabrera3172]

I meant do you think that no snakes can get in the tube from the holes?

[@jimmyc8951]

@@linacabrera3172 Stay tuned!

[@PeterHagstrom]

So amazing you put this video together, this is the most complete system overview I’ve seen! 🎉

[@dp7652-b2i]

Great job Jess, good to see you more and more in front of the camera.🎉

[@richardblanchard2743]

It is amazing how many responses you have received in such a short period of time.

[@larryjackson8675]

Thanx for taking the time for this overview now the whole series has come together for me. Looking forward to watching the house come together now! Will be here next week for my favorite show!!!!

[@brddukaty7460]

Let’s to see some TEMP reading s😊

[@KrisCallender]

Temperature and Humidity (simultaneously from the inlet and outlet) and Air Flow measurements over a year would've been wonderful in proving it's viability.

[@tonysurber9111]

I would suggest using a U.V. lighting system on your ventilation system. It will kill pretty much anything in your piping/ vent system. Bacteria, mold, creepy crawly critters, fungus and even viruses. I use one on my home a/c system, just like hospitals do.

[@mikapeltokorpi7671]

Note: that should be installed to an UV resistant pipe section.

[@Kevin_D1]

@@tonysurber9111 I 100% agree with you. Mold mitigation should be a top priority.

[@vonhalberstadt3590]

And cooking odors

[@eriksoderquist4218]

I would also be concerned about things like radon gas seeping in from the holes

[@mikapeltokorpi7671]

@eriksoderquist4218 Depends on your area. I was a bit upset to find out that in our downtown there are a Radon rich area after I had bought a house. Luckily, after more detailed inspection, the nearst Radon deposit to be conserned of is about half a mile away. Somehow, all the maps were not updated when I was surveying the real estate.

[@hogleg2]

Can you guys put thermometers in the neck on either end of a pipe to show temp coming in and exiting the pipe? Thx for the video.

[@gee3883]

Great project. Quick tip, if you can get it, use small round gravel/pebbles aprox 1/4 inch in size . In the UK we call it pea shingle. It flows easier around the pipes and finds its own way rather than having to move it so much with a shovel therefore a lot easier and faster.

[@jaymacpherson8167]

Great concept and install. FYI, frost lines are proof the temperature at x feet below grade is not constant. Small variations, but not constant. Also, please don’t get in unreinforced trenches over 4 feet deep. And even in trenches under 4 feet deep, don’t get down on your hands and knees. A coworker in a 4 foot deep trench (the OSHA legal depth for unreinforced) got down to look at the vertical face at the bottom of the trench, the trench collapsed, and he died before he could be rescued.

[@daniel-qh4zq]

I would get 210' of rope. Put 105' from end to end with a rag big enout to pull through. Once a year clean it out with a safe fungicide cleaner.

[@alexisleon23]

Best wishes for your new HVAC system. You are a great couple. Greetings from Greece 🇬🇷.

[@markbrown6236]

Jessica did a good job explaining this system, answered all of my questions.

[@bobwollard9105]

You two are such friendly and creative people. It has been a joy to watch as you create your home. I hope everything goes well for you moving forward. God bless you both.

[@robertmcelfresh5972]

Thank you for your in depth explaining installing earth tubes you guys rock.

[@gerryhartung736]

This system works just like the older homes in the Southeast US. There were old windows that slid up the walls to the bottom of second floor windows that actually were a type of window/door. By opening the 1st floor windows, the cool air would rise, sometimes going out upper floor windows or out windows in a cupulo window in the center of the roof.

[@iamthundermug]

Retired construction worker here. I think you are referring to “balloon construction “. This is where the studs on the exterior walls were open to the crawl space, and to the attic. As the sun heated the attic the air would rise and draw the cooler air from the crawl space. It had nothing to do with a special type of window.

[@taym2720]

@@iamthundermug We call it balloon framing

[@iamthundermug]

@@taym2720 to-may-toe, tah-mah-toe. LOL probably just a difference of where you live versus where I live. It’s nice hearing other people’s experience! I think both of us are telling people how old we are.

[@donbentley250]

I feel bad I can only give you one thumbs up. Great presentation, both of you.

[@heatherk8931]

It's a good plan, working by convection. My very wise step dad had his in center line of his 40'x60'x25' greenhouse. Another thing he did, was place mushroom inoculated pieces of oak in that ventilation area. They had beautiful mushrooms for seasons. A food forest would be very similar.

[@eifionawebber9179]

I'm New to your amazing life. I live roughly 4764 miles from you in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿. You're both such beautiful people inside and out. Your amazing house is absolutely outstanding. And finally your stunning dog's the love that comes from all of you it's just heart warming and puts a smile on my face. Good luck my lovely s from a Welsh Lady. Sending a massive Welsh Cwtch (cuddle) we have our own language so night night 🙏 Nos nos 🙏 God bless 🙏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@doncollins786]

Howdy from Texas from a huge Tristan Jones Fan!

[@eifionawebber9179]

@@doncollins786 which Tristan Jones are you on about my friend so many Jones in Wales as the same as my name Evans 🤣🤣🙏

[@eifionawebber9179]

@@doncollins786 hello from Wales my friend hoping you're had outstanding day in Texas 🙏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇱🇷

[@doncollins786]

@@eifionawebber9179 Howdy, a busy day here for me, winterizing my boat and chore around home. Getting ready for winter in Texas. I hope all is well in Wales!

[@rossk4864]

Thank you for the excellent information and congratulations on an equally excellent presentation! I am an engineer and have thought a lot about such a system and it is great to gain insight from people who have practical experience. I worked on efficiency upgrades to a school building built around 1920 in the interior of Alaska, with basement and three stories above ground, that had a passive, summertime cooling system.

[@rubylasiter5628]

Jim you have been of fire I have never seen any one man do so much so fast 👍YOU ROCK JIM👍We built a Earth berm house in the Texas Hill country with a good deal of rock. You guys did it right by picking the correct geography for the earth tube system we opted for the water well.

[@doughill4237]

As a contractor, Radon is really a marketing scheme. For it to be "deadly" one would have to lay on the floor with zero air circulation for 10-20 years. Even then, no guarantee it will cause serious damage. Realtors test for this in many areas I say it need to be banned. Far as HVAC air flow... for every 90° bend in HVAC ductwork, there is a 1-4% additional loss, in general. Love you videos.. Kepp 'em coming !

[@OtherDalfite]

I don't see this often enough. Radon mitigation systems are such a gigantic scam. Any airflow whatsoever in a basement is enough to get it circulated out. Crazy how popular the scam has become.

[@VeRSINGOnTheGo]

Back in 2020 we attended a dome workshop (Aircrete Harry) where they were laying out the groundwork for geo thermo. Ourselves, we have mlgoos acreage to plum up to our container home in about a month. Also looking to build a couple larger domes with the same idea. Great video thanks to the both of you!!

[@CIPCjake]

If you are using window screen to prevent pests from entering, I suggest installing 6x4 reducing couplings at intake to account for the lost free air space.

[@mainiac430]

Very good explanation even a dummy like me can understand the whole process. I learned we cant do this in my area because the trench would have to be 48" deep min., but we also have a high water table and clay.

[@sunstirade1085]

Coild below water table. Geo

[@jeniceowen5184]

Thank you for explaining the system so I can understand how it works and cost.

[@paulehney4581]

It so encouraging to see someone make use of geothermal energy for their home. Your system seems to be very well laid out and should work well. It was interesting that you noted that the thin walled pipe was a better choice because it would provide better heat transmission, most forget about plastic being an insulator. As far as measurements to see how the system works, just monitor the inlet and outlet air temperature, it will tell you all you need to know. Great effort, Jess and Jim this episode should be a great guide for anyone contemplating doing this themselves!

[@JohnGuest45]

You need to measure the cfm. A few cfm of 70F air wont cool a house.

[@kevinkline6835]

Love how you two explain it all. Your hard work is shown on every video.Thank you for sharing and doing it with class. Many blessings.

[@JustMe-s6s4m]

This topic has been a real advantage for the channel. You have gained 10 thousand viewers recently. Keep the videos coming at regular intervals and maintain the momentum. If radon is a concern, don't have the air go in "above ground". Angle the pipes just slightly down towards the inlet and put the inlet on a sloped enbankment. That way radon can't collect in the pipe because it is heavier than air, flows down the pipe to the air inlet, out the pipe and down the embankment. The efficiency drops with larger pipes because the heat transfer can only take place at the surface of the pipe, not in the middle. At the same time, if the pipe is too small, it will restrict air flow. As for cleaning, it may be a good idea to blow a pull line through the pipe, attach a chimney sweep brush in the house and pull the brush out the pipe inlet end.

[@RedStorm.]

Absolutely perfect explanations, I so much appreciate how you addressed all the questions I noticed in comments. Excellent presentation.

[@0900McShizzle]

Pro tip, you can get substantially more cooling by making two changes: place the pipes in your main water storage, this will cool the air more. You can add a solar powered extractor fan or roof-mounted ventilator for better heat exchange. I look forward to the data

[@HansHampel7018]

USA NJ I've been watching you for a while this was one of your best videos thank you

[@voice4voicelessKrzysiek]

Very informative and nicely done, thank you for that. I wish you two all the best.

[@charlesoliver2535]

With a high clay content in your soil, what will prevent water just sitting in and around your piping over time? Were the trenches sloped with a gradient away from the building with trench drainage being a consideration? A modern HVAC unit will produce several/3-5 5 gallon buckets of water a day, depending on air humidity.

[@hanalei412002]

thank you, this was awesome to see, explained it really well. Would be good if you haven't to show us your tests from both sides and seeing how much airflow you are getting through out the year.

[@kevinhwcrabbe-mr3dy]

I’m so happy to watch you two for I’m learning lots about what to do on here to pass it on to people at 45°who I know out on the farm and letting them know all what you are doing off grid that way so thank you, Jim and Jess for your beautiful tubing videos of building off grid and how to cool and heat your house. God bless you both throughout your life out there your truly Kevin H.W. Crabbe out of pincher Creek Alberta Canada.

[@patrickrussell1888]

I found it interesting that the system can work well in a humid climate.

[@seanpalmer8472]

Probably not as well as you might think. There is quite a bit of energy in humid air. In a humid climate, It's unlikely that you could dehumidify sufficiently in a single pass. You _might_ be able to do it with a ground loop and a fan to pump air through your loop and back into your conditioned space. It's not a passive system, but the _Tech Ingredients_ channel has a couple of videos of a low-power system that is potentially DIY-able that can dehumidify. If I were to live off-grid in a humid climate, I'd probably build something similar. The videos I'm thinking of are titled "Solar Powered Air Conditioner!" and "Revolutionary Air Conditioner!". I'd post the links, but KZbin's automod would hide my comment.

[@joeedh]

Yeesh don't try this in a humid climate, use a closed water loop and a heat exchanger, IIRC that's the norm in humid places.

[@balancedcooperation]

FIRST, plastic is an insulator, if you you want to transfer heat/cool you need to use a system that will transfer this, such as aluminum or even concrete pipes. However, it was completely unnecessary for you to use a pipe at all. Let me explain, you have stone at the bottom in a trench, the proper size stone will have airgaps btw them where the air can flow all the way down the trench. Additionally, at the end you have a screen which impedes airflow. To minimize this you want the screen to be over a much larger area so for example you could put a basketball at the end and wrap a 1/2" wire mesh around it to give it the shape then put the screen over it and connect/seal it to the pipe opening, this will practically eliminate the slow down the screen causes. But again you don't even need this, all you need is a pit at the end where the stone terminates and fill it up with more stone so that it is almost level at the top, place the screen on top and only stone around the edge of the screen to keep it in place then you can have vents in the floor to allow the air to circulate up into the house. Also at the bottom of the trench you can eat into the sides of the trench a little to make a bulb shape at the bottom which will double your surface area for heat transfer. Also if you make two trenches in parallel and wide enough you can bore holes at a 45 degree angle in the direction of the flow btw each use a fence pole auger. Do the math on the length of the auger times 2 (i.e. go from each trench towards the other) then stuff the holes with the stones to allow for airflow and then more heat transfer at least double if not more, so can make it smaller or keep same size and make it more effective, i.e. cooler because the stones will transfer more heat to the earth crust faster.

[@mjohnson5040]

after reading all these comments, my question seems small. Will you have to cover the inlets during dust storms?

[@christywoffinden1592]

I first heard about this system years ago when i was reading an article about what President Bush was going to do to heat and cool his new home. Soundef intriguing to me.

[@GerardAhern-sq1wh]

You could zigzag the pipe. It would save room. Love you guys. Very cool project for the desert.

[@JamesBond-zd5jx]

I like that idea.

[@mingsm123]

If expense was not a factor, would large steel or copper pipes be more efficient because they are better conductors than PVC? I think the PVC would somewhat insulate the air flowing through the pipes.

[@jeffreywhitmoyer860]

First time here, found your content to be extremely interesting. We're considering doing an off grid home in Northern AZ and earth tube cooling is part of the plan. Thanks for showing us how it's done.

[@coralsancetta7242]

The explanation was brilliant. Thank you for explaining how it will work.

[@jdcjr50]

If you were president, this would be your presidential moment. What an inspiration! Thank you very much for sharing your determination.

[@wadeprior5203]

Hey good afternoon Jim how you guys doing today hope everybody's having a good job looks like everything is coming together

[@thetechpastor]

A nerf ball that is snug in the pipe can be drawn through with a shop-vac to help clean the pipe, if that becomes and issue. You can even tie a string around it to help pull back.

[@dontrend5956]

I don't think a vacuum would work with all the hols in the pipes.

[@thetechpastor]

@@dontrend5956 You know, I watched the videos a couple of times, knew they had put holes in them, and ignored that fact when I posted. What is interesting is that we have actually been able to get the nerf ball through in similar piping when there were a couple of weep holes, but I am certain you are correct with how many they have. Sorry for not thinking about those.

[@rhymereason3449]

Yep - I was thinking that they should have installed some rot resistant poly line for pull cords when they installed it... then they could easily pull rags thru for cleaning. I think that will be hard to do after the fact.

[@jeffreyspencer-qv5gx]

Still a big fan of you guys and everything you are doing. Thanks again for always inspiring. ❤😊

[@diggerdog9096]

Good job guys. Thanks for taking the time to explain the whys and why nots.

[@paulboberg5512]

My father was a architect and he did a medical clinic for the Navajo. This is very similar to the cooling system he designed for that building. He used concrete culverts instead of PVC pipe and windows high up to provide solar heat or when opened the hot air flowed out drawing in the cool air. Last I heard they were very pleased with the whole building so much so that when it proved to be more popular than expected they returned to consult with him about a addition. As it turns out what they really needed was more room for medical records. While the lobby was carefully designed to reflect the people's traditions, art, culture he pointed out that records don't care about such things. So to save them some money in a kinda hidden away place he helped them put up a ugly old steel building thus more funds for what really matters, medicine.

[@billlyell8322]

Our climates vary greatly in the country but I've seen many experts say you want the tubes a minimum of 10 feet deep. Deeper if possible. Yes that does require an excavator but the one time expense definitely seems worth a lifespan of savings. The whole point is maximizing the thermal exchange to the earth.

[@fa5234]

There is a similar system but with a water pipe placed in the screed which also uses the coolness of the ground below to cool the ground above the screed but this is an electrical system where the pumped water circulates in continuous ! This system is more expensive but is really effective!

[@roadsofdiscovery]

A very good air cooling system, inexpensive and durable, discovered thousands of years ago by the Pharaohs in Egypt during the construction of the pyramids to maintain a degree of ambient air, at the time the PVC was made by earth channels with an air inlet on the north side and aerodynamic measures for the propagation of air towards the interior. Good continuation.

[@GaryDahle-j2f]

I've been enjoying watching your progress. You did a good job with this video, thorough and concise.

[@storm-aircorporation6540]

Always enjoy following how your projects come along. Nice video. Hope to see the results later.

[@4copyrightonly]

I like an inlet tube with a "clean out" , although it could be added later. You could even make one with a glass or plastic jar dust/dirt collector. I believe the inlets should be much higher off the ground if possible

[@lifes2short4bs73]

Awesome Build! Just one huge safety thing from my many years of construction. You REALLY should have some braced shoring in the trenches when you are inside. If any one of those walls were compromised and collapsed, you'd be dead... seriously. even just some plywood sheets with 4x4s is better than nothing. Glad that nothing happened and you're safe though.

[@abmcd9381]

in the winter....how is there going to be a negative pressure created in the house to pull the warm air in?

[@elaexplorer]

So in the winter the outside temp is at the lowest in the 60s during the day, it gets down to freezing once or twice a year in the night. I don't think there will be much air flow then since it will be so close to the geothermal temp. It will be interesting to see what happens, but I'm betting they'll need a secondary heat source for winter. Though I only turned my little buddy heater on 3 times last winter, they're not too far from me, so I suspect they won't need much heating either.

[@plinble]

In England there's not so many hot days, but keeping the sun out can keep it at 24C when it's 35C outside, then at 10pm and it's 28C inside, use a 40W fan to get cooler outside air in (24C). Thermal mass and lag: might help to keep the temperature more stable generally, but you need a lot, say 240 litres minimum for 10ft X 12ft room. Someone will have done the sums.

[@boss45chicken]

Can’t wait to see how it does in those hot summers! Great job you guys thank you for all the info. We are considering using these tubes in the great north to warm our house.

[@thomasschafer7268]

I use this in germany. 45m 2m deep. Diameter 200mm. Cooling 10°c in summer. And warming up in Winter for my recovery System 👍👍🇩🇪

[@newolde1]

I assume you're not in nearly as dry a climate. How do you deal with moisture / fungus / bacteria?

[@attilabodi826]

I love this method. I don't see it working outside a desert or just very low rain environments for more than a few years from moisture buildup. I could see this working in a green house without the holes for drainage - the same holes can let water get in. but its gona smell over time.

[@ourselfreliantlife]

Actually, this works better in moist, humid environments.

[@daniel-qh4zq]

What about mold in the pipe like Valley Fever.

[@Aidan-tu4un]

I believe angling the pipe generally down away from the house is a good idea to encourage any water to move away from the house, maybe even having a ‘sump’ at the farthest end before the angle up.

[@kurtcurtis2730]

They use this in the Taos earth ships and it’s nice and cool in them even in heat of summer. I don’t think they dug them as deep. You covered the vents with mesh, so no creepy crawlies. People are posting about what if scenario of flooding- folks- you just put a cap on it. PVC piping has caps you can plug with. Good job you 2. I’m inspired

[@kurtcurtis2730]

I do have a question. Is there any angle to the trench other than the vents? Is it level or a slight grade change?

[@mpvincent7]

Great job guys! Mold test annually may be a cheap and good idea...

[@chandrasutton4669]

Big thumbs up for the Earth Tubes!!!😊🎉❤

[@klazyy641]

WELL DONE! Clearly stated facts backed up with good visuals and well supervised by the Furry Boss----what could possibly be more perfect? Thanks for covering facts that I wasn't aware of throughout the actual build. Who'd a thunk about Legionnaires disease or a mold build-up? My only concern was the UV effects on the intake pipes and the strength of the varmint netting and you put those to rest with this episode. Thanks for the compilation and your ideal of helping out others who might be into passive earth cooling/heating.

[@scottbourret1190]

It would be interesting to see the temperatures and wind speed at the inlets and then inside to see how much the temperature varies.

[@rufuswoods1387]

So using perforated tubes how do you keep radon and other gases not to mention smells from entering your home through the tubes?

[@jimmyjohnstone5878]

Jess is more natural in front of the camera these days. It's not easy, so well done on learning how to do it your way. It be interesting to see how the system actually works in real life. I have heard of it but never seen the evidence of how it works in very hot conditions.

[@BlueThailand]

This is a very interesting achievement. What I like best about your approach is the search for energy sobriety upstream of the construction itself. We had the same approach before equipping ourselves with solar. Reducing your consumption is the basic condition for having good results.

[@kastenolsen9577]

You can buy washed gravel but a simple screen tray, built from 2x4 and hardware cloth, works great.

[@PoliteChihuahua]

curious if you could angle the pipes to harvest the moisture instead of drilled holes? I had the same pipes for a drainage system but the holes allowed dirt, roots, and critters. If it was a sealed system except for the in and out ports you would ensure those stay out and would have more efficiency on airflow. great video, thanks for sharing.

[@charlesbrack7017]

I live in Tucson and I am so impressed with what you have done and are doing! Great ideas.

[@thearchitect817]

3 or more feet underground is a continuous Temperature of 59*F. Anything below three feet maintains this temperature. A vacuum can be created by simply installing a valve to release heat buildup. In order for the heat to leave the area it needs air to replace it and this will automatically pull the cool air up until it meets the valve. This higher area eventually will warm back up to which the valve is reopened. Having a pressure valve is ideal as it will open and shut automatically and requires no electricity. Pretty nifty way to skirt the utilities companies.

[@andysponseller5941]

Do you get any mold in tubes? Do you do anything to clean them? I would worry about that here in east. Would it help to put a roof on posts over the inlets for shade?

[@JohnD6280]

You should of wrapped the pipes with breathable fabric to prevent any weeds from growing inside as you will have moisture inside those pipes. They won't grow overnight but eventually, you'll start to smell them and get reduced airflow.

[@bobbear]

To get an idea of your cooling ability of the soil at that depth, when it's dug immediately take the temperature at the bottom of the trench and get the surface soil temp. In arid soil at 6 ft of depth you won't get a lot, but it could be as low as 62 F at times, which is better than 98 F or higher at the surface. In moister soils it remains more even temperature through the year. Ideally I try to go 121ft or more and look for temperatures of around 55 F. In high desert in the winter you could see found temperatures below 0F, and this makes 55 F a great warm heat source to circulate into the home and through a heat exchange box from the wood stove or other heater arrangement. Best of luck.

[@JohnGuest45]

Cooling capacity will depend on how much air you move, its temperature and humidity. The temperature of the soil will depend on how much heat you add or remove and how fast. The properties of the soil will make a huge difference, specifically the specific heat capacity, conductivity and diffusivity which are heavily influenced by soil moisture.

[@abittwisted]

My basic question is how do you deal with moisture and bacterial buildup in the tubes. We know bacteria grow in high moisture environments.

[@ericdelevinquiere9902]

Just caught your channel by watching your water maker. Actually what would make more sense in your situation is to make your in ground pipes actually collect the condensate water. You could build them on an incline for instance. Just a thought!

[@silverdominguez8801]

Jim and Jess, such a great video you made. Informative and inspiring as usual. Love, love, love watching you both. Congratulations 🎉😊

[@varietasVeritas]

I would put your radon detector next to the air vent inside the house. Putting negative pressure on those perforated pipes can pull radon out of the ground.

[@christineherrmann205]

Hope you guys get the circulation through the house you're hoping for. I don't have the space for something like this, and our water table is almost certainly too high, but it's wicked cool.

[@sponsoredbymac]

You could take some cheap hepa filters and cut circles out of them to put into the intake pipes to keep airborne organic particles out and still have the wire screens to keep animals and insects out. I think that would definitely help with the mold problem.

[@bobclark7211]

Here’s an idea if you don’t glue the ends on you could always hire a duct cleaner to run through the pipes to clean if you think you have dirt or mold in them. Also you need them to stick high enough out of the ground that rain water doesn’t splash up into them. Also depends on how much snow you get. Just found your channel and i am really interested in trying this

[@davidrenfro5756]

2 free ideas not mentioned to help using my logic. Something to the effect of a large canapy over the inlets helping to cool the pipes and surrounding air when its warm to gain a head start .....and remove it when colder. This could let you paint the pipes black for more gain when cold! And for the oulet pipe example above the house. Make it a thin walled metal pipe painted black. This will heat up that air helping pull in your draft!...ps I agree with enlarging the screen intake for flow reasons!

[@scottantichow5286]

Interesting. I am thinking that it would be a good idea to slope the pipe towards the house with no holes. Put a tank below the pipe with one drain at the house that would drain into the tank giving you water. That water could be pumped into the house for use.

[@wheellifecycling]

Im sitting here thinking about the ends and then wifeee said, rock sculpture around the then ends, my thoughts exactly. Great minds think alike. Nice deal guys.

[@kastenolsen9577]

I hope these tips add more to your system.

[@persistentone3448]

Over time, mud will work its way all through the rock layer under the pipe, and because of the holes, muddy water will rise into the pipe and deposit mud extensively throughout the pipe. If you have an enclosed pipe, then burying it directly in mud is okay, because the tube contains a heat exchange fluid that is totally isolated from the environment outside the tube. In irrigation applications, normally they wrap the entire rock and tube in landscape cloth, exactly to prevent the mud from infiltrating the system. I am not sure what the right way to do your application is, but at some point I think you are going to need to filter the air coming into your home, because your design guarantees the tube won't stay clean of mud/bacteria/mold.

[@MegaBob222222]

In a dry climate a 28degree cooling effect can be realized in the home by adding a swamp cooler to take advantage of the air flow.