Family's Straw Bale Eco-Homestead Operates Off the Grid

We showcase some hi-tech sustainable building techniques, but more often than not, it's best to get back to the basics like rammed earth or straw bale construction. With low-tech sustainable building methods, one is trading speed and convenience for something that may take more time and labor but nevertheless likely uses less energy to produce, especially if local materials are used.

A great example of this kind of labor of love is this modern straw bale homestead in Minto, Ontario, that operates off the grid. Home to couple Chris Vander Hout and Christine Hoy and their son, the house is located on a 20-acre property where for many years, the family has been striving to live in harmony with nature. They do so by harvesting solar energy, collecting rainwater, and growing their food. We get a thought-provoking tour of their beautifully designed straw bale residence via Exploring Alternatives:

Designed by Toronto-based architect Martin Liefhebber of Breathe Architects and constructed by Ontario-based sister companies Harvest Homes and Evolve Builders, the home incorporates a slew of sustainable features like a green roof, natural finishes, local materials, a solar hot water heater, solar photovoltaics, a rainwater harvesting system, as well as a composting toilet. Additionally, the couple went the mortgage-free route by using their own labor and building along the way whenever there was extra income.

The home is sited in an existing clearing and oriented toward the south so that during the winter, the home maximizes passive solar gain and therefore requires less supplementary heating. During the summer, the home is cooled naturally, thanks to the tall trees nearby, while the deep overhangs shield the interior from the blazing sun.

The green roof has been populated with sedums and other drought-resistant plants, which help to reduce rainwater run-off, and to insulate the home against the heat of summer, as well as protecting the interior from the chill of winter.

A lot of thought has gone into designing the home's layout: a central greenhouse with tall windows passively collects solar heat during the day, which is then spread to the peripheral living spaces. The main planter here also helps filter the home's greywater, which is used to irrigate the garden beds and nourish the plants in another interior greenhouse.

The rest of the home is split into a couple of "sleeping pods" and a living pod that comprises a living room and kitchen. Here we see the large living room, which has a wood stove for extra heating. Here we also catch a glimpse of the home's post-and-beam structure, which uses parallel strand lumber (PSL)—an exceptionally strong engineered lumber that uses smaller trees rather than old-growth ones to create solid structural support.

The choice of materials aligns with their intentions to live in greater harmony with nature, as Vander Hout explains:

"The materials for the home we wanted [were to create] a healthy home. So to have good indoor air quality with no off-gassing, we've used a lot of natural wood, finished with natural oils. We've used natural paints; all the walls are finished with [no-VOC] silicate-based paints, we have clay finishes on some of the walls. The [adobe] earthen floors was one of the elements that we wanted to test out, as well as a light clay straw wall system, and stone [paving]—you know, just minimizing the amount of plywoods and particle boards."

The home's radiant heating comes from this wood-gasification boiler, which is fed firewood sourced from trees that have been selectively cut from the site. Water for showers and washing dishes is heated with the help of the solar water heater that has been mounted on an angled part of the roof.

Since the home's water supply comes from a dug well, conserving water in day-to-day activities is vital. To minimize water use and eliminate the need for a septic system, the home has a vault-style composting toilet by Clivus Multram.

The composting toilet system works in conjunction with the greywater system to recycle water from the laundry, bath, and kitchen for watering the garden.

All in all, the couple's straw bale house is a testament to the great love and patience that has gone into building this unique house over a period of many years. There are some very smart and effective sustainable design ideas here that make it a wonderful example of how various systems can work together to create a self-sustaining, off-grid homestead.