Looking for feedback on my floor plan

[nunodonato]

Originally Posted by Jafo

It would be less of an issue if you didn't have the loft, because you could use a fan to push heat down. With the loft, you are really going to restrict radiant heat because the walls will be blocking it. However, some strategically placed vents, with muffin fans, might just do the trick.

What location are you in if you don't mind me asking? Climate has to be considered here too I would think.

Portugal, south-western europe.

Our coldest days usually are about -5ºC (around 20F), but honestly I'm not so worried about winters. Summer is what worries me because it can get quite hot sometimes (40C or higher/ 105F). We are planting trees for shade, but it will take time to grow. We planned windows on every room and 2 in the living room. With the

dome

open it should give us quite a nice draft.... but no idea if its tolerable or not

[Bob Rowlands]

As for a hot yurt, that is definitely gonna happen unless you have air conditioning. It's a cloth tent with the sun beating directly on it, -an oven- not a house with a foot of

insulation

in the attic and a full vent system letting out the hot attic air.

For a cooling air flow on a hot day, I roll up the sides of my 16' nomadic yurt and have the China cap covering the ring up several inches. Inotherwords, wide open. Similar to rolling down all the windows in your non airconditioned vehicle on a hot day, the air flow helps cool it. That 'roll up the wall cover' trick makes it tolerable on a hot day in the 90s. I wouldn't want to be in there when it is over a hundred degrees though without air conditioning. Thank God we have a house with a basement.

Another possibility is to erect a tarp over the yurt with seperation between it and the yurt cover for air flow between the two. That way the tarp takes the brunt of the sunlight and the yurt is in the shade. The rainfly on backpacking tents works in a similar fashion. If the fly is off in the summer, and even with the door and window open, the tent gets a whole lot hotter than with the fly installed.

Good luck.

[Bob Rowlands]

My wife is 100% Portuguese btw.

[nunodonato]

Originally Posted by Bob Rowlands

As for a hot yurt, that is definitely gonna happen unless you have air conditioning. It's a cloth tent with the sun beating directly on it, -an oven- not a house with a foot of

insulation

in the attic and a full vent system letting out the hot attic air.

For a cooling air flow on a hot day, I roll up the sides of my 16' nomadic yurt and have the China cap covering the ring up several inches. Inotherwords, wide open. Similar to rolling down all the windows in your non airconditioned vehicle on a hot day, the air flow helps cool it. That 'roll up the wall cover' trick makes it tolerable on a hot day in the 90s. I wouldn't want to be in there when it is over a hundred degrees though without air conditioning. Thank God we have a house with a basement.

Another possibility is to erect a tarp over the yurt with seperation between it and the yurt cover for air flow between the two. That way the tarp takes the brunt of the sunlight and the yurt is in the shade. The rainfly on backpacking tents works in a similar fashion. If the fly is off in the summer, and even with the door and window open, the tent gets a whole lot hotter than with the fly installed.

Good luck.

Hi Bob!

Unfortunately our future yurt module doesnt allow that, because the sides are locked under the base. That's why we want more windows

AC isn't an option because we are off-grid solar.

I did think about using something for shade, but in an 8m yurt, and with the wide summer sun arc, its going to be a HUGE tarp, and kind of ugly too...

[Bob Rowlands]

If the sides can't be rolled up, I'll just offer an opinion that I guess that's one of the drawbacks of an Americanized yurt. A 6 meter and larger Mongolian yurt would most certainly have the wall rolled up because it is for dang sure they aren't gonna have air conditioning away from town, nor a tarp on top. I like yurts and all but they most definitely aren't anywhere near as nice as a house. All the newbs out there reading this, note that a yurt is a tent, not a house. Don't get the idea the it is house like. It is not. Not even close. Just speaking the truth here.

I guess open windows and vent through the ring is the best you'll do. I'd really say the heck with how it looks and erect a tarp system but that's just me. Anyway, good luck.

[hierony]

A yurt in Portugal sounds nice! Hopefully you have some shady outdoor/water areas to go during the heat of the day. With the lightweight structure that they are, yurts cool down quickly in the evening instead of staying hot late into the night...

If you're crafty/inventive you might look at a solar-driven adsorption chiller setup for AC. I don't think there's very many commercial systems available, but there's also info on building your own.

I like your floorplan. You may have already considered them, but pocket doors & captains beds/storage beds are great for saving valuable floor space.

Might get some really fast growing trees for shade the first summer or two while the better/sturdier trees grow :P Just remember to cut them down when they're no longer needed...

Best of luck! Yurt living is fun.

[Bob Rowlands]

Maybe there is a way to wet down the canvas? Doing that every hour or so on hot days just might cool the yurt down somewhat, like wearing a wet bandana. I've worked jobs where I had to wear hardhat and a bandana under it is a good way to keep your head cool. I regularly soak my ball cap in the summer to cool off. Just a guess. It might work.

[Bob Rowlands]

Another idea is to get a generator and build a platform atop the yurt for a small swamp cooler. That would cool the yurt down fast on the really hot days. My mother in law has one in her small rancher and that cools her house very effectively. My son has one as well. They work great. Just run it when it's really hot. It isn't like the generator would be on all day.

[nunodonato]

Originally Posted by hierony

A yurt in Portugal sounds nice! Hopefully you have some shady outdoor/water areas to go during the heat of the day. With the lightweight structure that they are, yurts cool down quickly in the evening instead of staying hot late into the night...

If you're crafty/inventive you might look at a solar-driven adsorption chiller setup for AC. I don't think there's very many commercial systems available, but there's also info on building your own.

I like your floorplan. You may have already considered them, but pocket doors & captains beds/storage beds are great for saving valuable floor space.

Might get some really fast growing trees for shade the first summer or two while the better/sturdier trees grow :P Just remember to cut them down when they're no longer needed...

Best of luck! Yurt living is fun.

We are definitely considering beds with storage underneath Any trees you recommend for fast growth?

I'm not familiar with "solar-driven adsorption chiller". do you have any links?

thank you!!

[Bob Rowlands]

Any tree big enough to offer real shade is gonna be expensive to buy and also to install. Even Christmas sized conifers say 10 feet tall are dug and set with a 'tree truck'. In semi arid Colorado where I live quaking aspens are fast growing, but even those take a few years to get big enough to offer real shade. Frankly unless you have a big wallet, effective shade from trees isn't gonna happen for at least ten years. Bamboo is actually a grass and grows very fast relative to trees but I doubt they will grow there. lol Wish I had some good advise here but that's all I got.