Monitoring of the Moisture Content of Straw Bale Walls

Monitoring of the Moisture Content of Straw Bale Walls
Written by esba

This paper describes an investigation into moisture levels in straw bale walls used to clad a newly constructed building. The moisture content was monitored up to 10 months after the building was handed over. The sensors used for this purpose were readily available, low cost and easily installed. The moisture levels fluctuate during the first 4 months following installation of the instrumentation, followed by a period of greater stability where it is believed that the straw acts as a moisture buffer, managing the humidity levels within the building and contributing to a healthier internal environment.

This ongoing study makes a contribution towards raising confidence levels in the use of straw bales as low carbon building material in mainstream construction.

Link: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-03454-1_17

About the author

esba

The European Straw Building Association is an independent European association, devoid of any profit making motive. The object of the Association is to promote and develop the use of straw, as a sustainable way of building in all the senses of the term “sustainable”: renewable, ecological, healthy, energy and climate efficient, social and economic.
The Association is a federation composed of organisations and people particularly concerned with the use of straw in buildings.