Off Grid "Air Conditioning" System That Costs Pennies

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Permaculture cooling tubes, earth tubes, Geothermal tubes. This is one part to a series of concepts in this regenerative, Sustainable build. The Greening The Desert Project.
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[@frictionhitch]

Use a "hot box" on the roof instead of a fan. A simple metal black box with a pipe coming in and out will heat up the air, that air will rise and draw air through your cooling pipes(through negative pressure) into the house. The best thing about it is that it is self regulating. The warmer the box on the roof gets the stronger the draw.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

We'll actually incorporate that idea later on! We just need to get further into the build! Appreciate that!😅✌🏾

[@dottiannblakemore9231]

Curious as to where you are at. I am in Sun Valley Az​@@GrowTreeOrganics

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Right on! We're in the area of Seligman and Ash Fork!✌🏾

[@frictionhitch]

@@GrowTreeOrganics We are near Ramah New Mexico. A few hours but we have kindred goals.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@frictionhitch oh nice! Perhaps we'll have to meet up in the future!?😅✌🏾

[@futurekron]

I've been looking for a great explaination on how to install a DIY system like this for my tiny house. Thanks!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

No worries, glad the video could help you out!👍🏾✌🏾

[@AaronsStudio]

Cooling warm humid air to the dewpoint results in condensation...an ideal scenario for mold growth.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

You're definitely correct! Why we're making the tube with stone!✌🏾

[@pcatful]

Good thing the air is dry in the desert. And other points-the dewpoint probably is not reached, plus the air is constantly moving. I don’t know what happens with the “monsoon” action described. I would be suspect of purposely letting moisture into the unreachable parts of the tubes.🎉 I think traditional methods used fountains at the base of cooling towers inside the home.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@pcatful I'd totally agree with your points!✌🏾

[@insAneTunA]

I am always heavily impressed after watching your videos. You guys are very spot on with everything that you do. Besides the fact that plants prefer an ideal temperature spectrum, temperature control is usually also a big cost for any household. And too much humidity inside can also cause molds. As always a huge 👍

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Really appreciate it! There's still a lot more for us to complete and everything will be more understandable once we get further into everything!✌🏾

[@tonyday7632]

Thanks for the info, great compilation of graphics examples.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Super glad it was a helpful video for you! Thanks for tuning in!✌🏾

[@Nerdy_prepper]

So cool! ;)

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

😂✌🏾

[@christopherstewart9874]

See that big tree behind you at 5:40? I would bet that if your cooling tube intake was in the shade of that tree, it would give you noticeably cooler air. Just walking down a city street, passing under a tree results in surprisingly cooler air temperature.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

We're definitely not finished. We'll be building the tubes towards the trees in the back for the shade and we'll line a basin out with rubber to create an evaporative cooling system. ✌🏾

[@PeterLawton]

SUBSCRIBED! Since you are interested in evaporative cooling, you might also like *indirect* evaporative cooling. Exterior air is drawn in and cooled, without adding humidity to the portion that stays inside. I have wondered about adding a second stage, with normal evaporative cooling, to get a bigger overall temp drop. In the desert, adding humidity is probably a good thing. But TWO cooling stages is probably icing on the cake.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Appreciate you joining the journey! I have a couple other videos describing our full system for Heating and cooling. The cooling tubes are apart of that system, so creating redundancy with simple tech. But I think what you're talking about, that essentially is what we're doing. We'll be drawing in outside air that will be cooled by the tubes that will be buried eventually. But we'll create a swamp cooler inside, so we're not drawing humidity through the tubes, just inside. But im definitely Hip to your jive! Appreciate your input!✌🏾

[@stanbyme7874]

Fascinating. Love your explanations.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Thank you!✌🏾

[@johnassal5838]

One issue with condensation in your tube is the possibility of mold and bacteria thriving. In wetter environments, this can make it wiser to use a separate liquid loop connected to some ratiators with 12v fans inside with these and a small pump running off solar. Another consideration is adding screens to block varmints down to mice and depending on your area snakes or scorpions

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

We're in Northern Arizona, very hot and dry. I don't think we'll have much of an issue with mold and such. It will also be apart of the finished tubes that we'll have screen and mesh to keep rodents and pests out. Although we do have 5 outdoor cats on mouse patrol here too!😅✌🏾

[@johnassal5838]

@GrowTreeOrganics One thing I haven't heard of anyone trying is separating a hot and a cold field. It's more effort but if you had one you only ever pulled air through when it's cold out then you could get much lower temps from the cold side and then do the same for the hot side. You just have to be able to divert it's output from indoors while "charging" it with heat during summer or with cold over winter. Twice as much digging and a little more complexity but you'd basically never need to burn wood for warmth unless you felt like it and still stay cool in whatever the AZ equivalent turns out to be of the crazy heat waves starting to hit the PNW...

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@johnassal5838 I see what you're saying. I guess that's similar to me why we're doing the tubes with rocks, acting as thermal mass to store hot and cold Temps to help reduce those energy needs inside. Appreciate your insight on that!✌🏾

[@johnassal5838]

@GrowTreeOrganics Yeah. It's amazing how many BTU are in a few hundred cubic yards of dirt. AFAIK rock is actually quite a bit more thermally conductive than dry earth so it's sort of extending the surface area of your earth tube's but unless you're running flue gases through they won't make much better use of the relstively low high temperatures they'll see. Definitely cheaper than any other sort of tube you could use though.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@johnassal5838 I see nice! I'll look into that rock too! Sounds interesting! Thanks for that!✌🏾

[@jamesmatheson5115]

I understand the passive cooling system, running pipes underground, however Im not sure how you expect hot/warm air to travel downwards, then travel horizontally then come back out cool, I know with a venturi system you could draw air out but that doesnt get it in where a small blower would do all of that, on the other hand, Evaporative Air Con is something that off grid homes can have simply and cost effective, with a total outlay for less than $500 and a days work, we use to run a small 12V Solar Panel Grid hooked up to a 12V Truck Battery with a Battery Tender the house ran 12V lights, small gas stove using bottle gas, in winter you did as they did 150 years ago and use a wood stove for cooking and passive heating, I guess its the difference of living off grid or doing it as green as humanly possible in the confines of ones monetary wealth. The building construction is the key, having massive thick solid walls will help cool the internals down, yet in winter it will be so cold that it will be almost unlivable, in Summer time you need to get rid of hot air out of the ceiling and again our fore fathers designed roofs to do exactly that in a passive way, I guess we need to look back in our distant pass to find the answers we need today. Oh Im guessing you all think Im not every green, you're right there, I prefer to be practical and use whats available and I know what works, do many of you know that Bubble Wrap was originally invented as a insulator.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Convection is the answer you're looking for on how this system will work! 😅 Also why I show Earthship pictures, but maybe I wasn't all the way clear with everything... always room for improvement! We're not 100 percent done with the tubes or the structure its attached to. You can watch the latest video to see how everything has progressed! Appreciate your input and your own experience!✌🏾

[@DieselRamcharger]

those tubes need to be wwwaaayyy deeper. might as well just use some pex and do a geothermal loop. swamp coolers dont work when the dew point reaches a certain point. here in phoenix swamp coolers dont do crap june thru august, which is when you really need some extra cooling. you want the home as deep into the ground as you can get it.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

We're definitely not finished, and the tubes will be buried more. We also have to back bury more on the structure as well. Lots still unfinished! I'll have all the videos for when we get more finished on everything and can do the tests on temperature and humidity and how well everything works. You can Look back on some of my older videos where I show temperature and humidity inside our old Earthship Home in Montana. These tubes are different than how most people build them, so I hope to show how our method could be an improvement from old thinking and old design. Appreciate your input!✌🏾

[@SamsLiberty]

Curious if you could share more about the rock tube construction method? Is it using grout? Adobe? Any wire reinforcement?

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Totally can do! We've still got plenty more "tube" to do✌🏾

[@SamsLiberty]

I see what you did there; 😁

[@jamesmatheson5115]

My concern there is if water is laying inside the tube for long periods of time you could be looking at health issues, even modern Evaporative Systems need cleaning to stop Legionnaires' disease.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@jamesmatheson5115 think it helps we live in the Desert and it's very very dry, but also that the finished "pipes" will be designed in a way to divert water away, towards water catchment basins and such. Air will be constantly drawn through the tubes, I'm not imagining significant lingering moisture.✌🏾

[@-iIIiiiiiIiiiiIIIiiIi-]

1:21 Dis dude lookin' like Azazello from the The Island Of Dr. Moreau. He even did the head twitch sniff. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

😅 I don't know who that is, but that's still funny!✌🏾

[@KarasCyborg]

Will be interested in how well this works out. I'm not as adventurous as you, I think I would build a dog-house sized system before I went all in.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

I've used this design before on the previous 4 Earthships we built. They definitely work! This design however will hopefully improve the cooling effect even more. We've still got ay little ways to go before it's finished! ✌🏾

[@harrynut3044]

They dont work for shit. That's why nobody ever talks about Temperature numbers. You'll get 80 degree air coming out and these people will tell you it works. It's beyond retarded to do this when an evaporate cooler would do a way better job and a shit ton less money.

[@theaquariancontrarian3316]

In Az you gotta bury the tubes at least 6 1/2 feet down due to the intense heat.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

You're totally right! We still have a lot to do, which includes building the tubes more and burying more!✌🏾

[@nadietta9812]

If I undostood right, the tube should not go down and then up again, otherwise you can create a siphon effect once the deep point gets flooded by the condensation water. That would block the air. So make sure, the tube steadily goes downwards, so the water can just run out freely. Otherwise you might have to pump out the water once in a while.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

You're most definitely right, only the context is what's confusing, because in the video I'm more referring to the downward angle horizontally as to direct the water away, almost like a sidewalk curve. But the we will be cautious with the vertical tube angle so as to not cause a water plug of any sort!✌🏾

[@jacklawver4403]

I’m confused the tubes look above grade why would u count them as geothermal tubes? Or consider them under ground

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

We still have much to finish and complete on the backside, which includes burying the tubes. We just can't dig down because of rocks, so we'll be building up the backside and building it up so as to "sink the pipes more underground"✌🏾

[@pcatful]

Aren’t the metal tubes best for heat transfer?

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

They can be, it just depends how you wanna do it yourself and your own goals. We're just utilizing the materials at hand. Rocks are good thermal mass and since their cooling tubes, we want the tube to absorb as much heat from outside as possible. ✌🏾

[@mgdubya27]

Corrugated pipes would be much stronger. What about critter control?

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Most of the time on Earthships they're using corrugated pipe. We only needed a little section to go through the gabion walls, so we didn't need anything special✌🏾

[@majorleaguegrowing]

i bet burying a standard aluminum tube could work, since it is thermally conductive

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

It definitely would work, most people use culvert pipe, but you can use all kinds of material! This is just the way we're making our tubes. It's the concept that's solid, the design can be changed since we're all different and have different ideas, goals, and such. ✌🏾

[@8urface]

Looks like a great way to get mice in your house

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Good thing we'll be putting screen and wire mesh in the openings, just like any other house. Also helps we have 5 cats on mouse patrol here!✌🏾

[@jkmarshall3553]

@@GrowTreeOrganics Patrol cats, cool!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@jkmarshall3553 😅✌🏾

[@adobo6905]

Use this information for entertainment. Can work only on KZbin videos.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

It works in real life! I'll have the video in the future showing temperature differences and the results of everything! But it can be entertaining information for practical use!✌🏾

[@adobo6905]

@@GrowTreeOrganics Temperature is half the equation you need to measure the air volume that comes with that temperature.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@adobo6905 you're definitely right on that! I'll try to get that kind of information when we finish these cooling tubes! Appreciate your feedback.✌🏾

[@BVN-TEXAS]

This works great in low humidity areas. Try this in Houston and you will be miserable sadly.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Takes a little adjusting of design but there are people in more humid places that have used this concept and claim they've had no mold problems or lack of cooling. Actually Someone in the comment section said they live in Missouri I think but they've used this concept for years and had no problems with their set up. ✌🏾

[@gillsmoke]

Oh no! you gave up the secrets of the ever green troll ending. Glad that the project is so big you can easily move to other things.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Oh, but you see the troll endings are just beginning!😅✌🏾

[@PandorasFolly]

I know someone who kind of did this. He won a truly ridiculously large amount of corrugated tube drunkly bidding on a government auction. He ended them as air supplies for the air heat pump. Said his power bill is a fraction of what it used to be

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Too funny about the guy you know! 🤣 people definitely use these in multiple different ways and depending what you're using it for is what creates the labeling!✌🏾

[@samsawesomeminecraft]

I think you need a lesson on latent heat and calorimetry. Some of what you say about condensation doesn't make sense, like opposite of what I think is supposed to happen. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm not sure you know what you're talking about.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

What was it that you didn't find correct? I'm curious so I can address it in the next video! Appreciate the feedback!✌🏾

[@genxfour0four222]

this is poor execution tbh your pipes are too shallow and too short the ground temperature will be hot the lack of moisture control is going to be a major problem with mold growth dont try a swamp cooler for the love of god the humidity is going to be a problem even without one and if you setup one mold will infest everything

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

You'll have to rewatch, the answer to your statement is there. ✌🏾

[@jameskniskern2261]

We put in 3 earth air tubes into our straw bale house here in very humid central Kentucky, USA. We have 130 feet of 6 inch plastic corrugated drain pipe which is cut on the bottom side. Laid down into a bed of gravel which has a 4 inch drain that daylights downhill from the house. All of that is buried 7 feet deep. The system has been functioning well for almost 8 years now. No mold, no "cavey" smell. Good conditioned air brought into the house year round for the cost of running a bathroom fan. 35 cubic feet per minute. We run it year round and the air temperature is 67F coming out of the tubes. With all that said, I'm not yet convinced that your system is deep enough to deal with the hot, dry desert air for long. It is a thermal mass calculation. Because your tubes are shallow, you don't have enough thermal mass working for you. Good luck!

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@jameskniskern2261 that's awesome! The misconception of this video is I didn't emphasize that we are not finished with the tubes and we still have a way to go. I wanted to introduce the concept and how we're utilizing it in our build. Appreciate your testament of your earth tubes!✌🏾

[@harrynut3044]

Wont work.

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

Oh it works!😅✌🏾

[@harrynut3044]

@@GrowTreeOrganics Yea? what's your temperature rise ?

[@GrowTreeOrganics]

@@harrynut3044 well this structure isn't finished nor are the tubes but the 4 other Earthships I built with cooling tubes dropped the outside air temperature by 20 degrees, coupled with the thermal mass of the structures , the inside of the structures were 25 to 30 degrees cooler than outside temperatures. And that was without a fan or using any electricity. This isn't necessarily the end all be all for cooling air, nor am i suggesting this is the one and only answer or design. This video we're usinga different design in material than what was used before, so it's what I like to say the concept is solid the design is flexible. Anyone could do this concept, but tweak it to how they want, add a fan, a swamp cooler.... otherwise that's why there are AC units you can buy. ✌🏾

[@harrynut3044]

That's not an answer. You claimed it works....so what is your Temperature Rise? Maybe you don't know what that means....So let me rephrase the question. When it's 90 Degrees outside, what is your Supply Air Temperature ?

[@harrynut3044]

@@GrowTreeOrganics Thanks for the reply. Swamp coolers do exactly the same, about 20 degree difference but only until about 85 degrees outside then they cant keep up. I'm a retired HVAC contractor and know this shit doesn't work in Hot temperatures but Im seeing lots of channels pushing this concept like its as good as refrigerated air. I could see it working if you dig deep enough to reach that 55 degree depth. All very interesting...thanks again for the reply.