To the un-enlightened individual, which I admittedly was, until a few years ago, straw-bale seems like a strange idea. If you have never seen a straw-bale home, or seen the obvious advantages it offers it seems like an adolescent idea of building a house. Years ago I used to bale straw with my neighbors out on their farm. I remember stacking bales high in the loft of the barn and how hot it would be. Then in the winter I remember how warm it was compared to outside. In Minnesota it can get -20 to -40 in December through January and I remember just a few horses would heat the whole barn. Straw is incredible insulator. Theoretically a 16.5 inch straw-bale should insulate at an R value of 52, compare this with a 6 inch standard fiberglass insulation R value of 13 found in most exterior walls, and that is just one of the incredible advantages of strawbale building.
