What is Rammed Earth?
Rammed earth is a natural wall building material, created by compressing a mix of gravel, sand, and a binder into a form. The act of compression does in a few moments what gravity does over thousands of years: create rock.
This technique - coupled with modern engineering and building science incorporating rebar and insulation - makes rammed earth structural, airtight, and heavily insulated enough to exceed Ontario's building code, and succeed through our winters.
Every rammed earth wall has its own unique look. The colours in a rammed earth wall can be subtle or dramatic, and are created by adding iron oxides in different combinations and amounts. The pattern of the striations, whether thick or thin, flat or wavy, can also be a part of the wall’s design.
Why choose rammed earth?
Beauty
The construction of each rammed earth wall is also the creation of a unique work of art. The earthy tones and textures of rammed earth walls create a cozy and welcoming atmosphere like no other. Their natural beauty harmonizes with any landscape, from lush forest to rolling fields, from lakeside to a modern urban oasis.
Each wall's appearance can be customized in terms of colour and striations, allowing for a personalized and curated aesthetic.
Rammed earth’s beauty responds to the play of light, changing as sunlight shifts to clouds, moonlight to dawn, sunset to electrical, from solstice to equinox.
Comfort
Healthy indoor air quality is a hallmark of our homes. Free from organic materials, rammed earth walls eliminate the risk of mold and toxins, and their unique absorptive qualities leave only clean, fresh, air. Rammed earth is a viable choice for those with respiratory issues, indoor allergies or chemical sensitivities.
Rammed earth’s superpower is thermal mass. This natural property of rammed earth walls provides a consistent indoor temperature, offering unparalleled, year-round, comfort. The hygroscopic nature of rammed earth further helps regulate indoor humidity levels, perfect for Ontario's damp winters and hot, humid, summers. The thick walls are airtight, eliminating drafts.
Rammed earth has an intangible sense of calm. The thickness of the walls creates a sense of security and a connection to the earth. Rammed earth is inherently soundproof yet creates an acoustically rich atmosphere. Whether you seek a peaceful sanctuary or a harmonious space for creative pursuits, rammed earth offers acoustic bliss.
Sustainability
Rammed earth takes a bold eco-minded step into the future of home construction. Using natural, local, abundant, subsoils it reduces the energy of processing and transportation, creating almost no waste in the process.
Rammed earth buildings are naturally energy efficient due to their thermal mass and inherent airtightness. This leads to consistently lower operational energy for every season, year over year, century after century.
Rammed earth’s durability is measured in centuries. Its maintenance-free resilience against fire, pests, and weathering eliminate the need for repair or replacement, further minimizing environmental waste.
Rammed earth is a conscious choice for the planet … and future generations.
FAQ
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The cost of a rammed earth home varies depending on size, design complexity, and location. Generally, constructing a rammed earth home has a slightly higher upfront cost compared to conventional construction methods. However over time, rammed earth homes offer significant savings, making them a cost-effective choice in the long run. Here are some ways in which rammed earth homes lead to savings over time:
Energy Efficiency: Rammed earth walls dramatically reduce the need for heating or cooling, resulting in substantially lower energy bills throughout the year.
Durability and Maintenance: Rammed earth walls are highly durable and require no maintenance. They are impervious to fire, floods, pests, and rot. Rammed earth walls last for centuries.
No fossil fuels: A well-designed rammed earth home is perfectly positioned to rely solely on clean electricity, eliminating the need for fossil fuels (and their volatile pricing) and allowing for ‘off-grid’ or ‘net zero’ options such as solar panels.
Long-Term Value: Rammed earth homes have a distinctive aesthetic appeal which, combined with the durability, energy efficiency, and eco-friendliness of rammed earth construction, contribute to the long-term value of the property. Additionally, rammed earth’s durability affords an excellent opportunity to create a home to be passed down through the generations.
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A well-designed and properly constructed rammed earth home will provide excellent thermal performance, significantly reducing the need for heating or cooling. Here are a few reasons why rammed earth homes can be naturally comfortable without relying on extensive mechanical heating or cooling systems:
Thermal Mass: Rammed earth walls have high thermal mass, meaning they naturally retain heat during colder seasons and absorb and dissipate heat during warmer seasons, reducing reliance on heating and cooling systems.
Insulation and Air Tightness: Rammed earth walls are inherently airtight due to the density of rammed earth. Insulation hidden within the thickness of the walls, withstands Ontario’s winters and summers, reduces the temperature exchange between the interior and exterior, creating a comfortable indoor environment in any season.
Natural Ventilation: Rammed earth homes are usually designed to incorporate natural ventilation strategies. Strategic placement of windows, doors, and vents can take advantage of prevailing breezes, allowing for cross ventilation and fresh air circulation. This natural airflow helps cool the home in hot weather.
Passive Solar Design: Rammed earth homes work perfectly with passive solar design, an approach that optimizes the free heat of natural sunlight. Proper building orientation, shading devices, and well-placed windows maximize solar gain during winter months while minimizing excessive heat gain during summer. In all seasons the rammed earth absorbs extra heat, avoiding overheating which is the most challenging aspect of passive solar design.
Energy Efficiency: The thick walls and thermal mass of rammed earth dramatically reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling. This allows for a smaller, simpler HVAC solution such as an ultra low-energy, high-performance electrical heat pump. When combined with other energy-efficient features like efficient windows and energy-saving appliances, rammed earth homes achieve very high levels of energy efficiency.
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Passive House refers to a design standard emphasizing air-tightness and insulation to allow a building to reduce energy consumption up to 80%. Passive House is a comprehensive and rigorous design standard with many design challenges which can be elegantly solved by using insulated rammed earth, which is inherently air-tight. Passive Houses are known for their comfortable living environment.
Many homes built to Passive House standards also apply Passive Solar Design, which is not an established standard but has consistent principles of using captured heat from the sun to warm the building. Typically, south facing windows allow solar heat gain and that solar heat is retained in the thermal mass of the building. Rammed earth has abundant thermal mass, making the most of this design system.
A term sometimes used interchangeably with Passive House is High Performance Home which refers to how the design and systems work together to achieve low energy use. Aerecura homes are designed to be high performance.
Net Zero Homes produce as much energy as they consume. In Ontario, Net Zero is currently a voluntary adoption as advocated by the Net Zero Energy Housing Council and the Ontario Home Builders Association. Although often employing solar panels to produce energy, the energy use of the building must be low for this to be feasible. An Aerecura home is perfectly positioned to become Net Zero.
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Thermal mass refers to a material's ability to absorb, store, and release heat. Rammed earth walls have exceptionally high thermal mass because of their density, thickness and rock-like structure.
The enormous amount of thermal mass available from rammed earth walls resists temperature fluctuations throughout the year, continuously absorbing excess heat from all available sources such as sunlight, devices and appliances and even humans and pets, then releasing heat as surrounding temperatures drop.
On a daily basis, the rammed earth walls absorb heat during the day and gradually release it back into the interior space during the evening. This process regulates the indoor temperature, keeping it stable and comfortable.