R-value (insulation) typical straw bale houses have very thick walls and thus are well insulated. Snow is roughly R-1 per inch. Brick has a very poor insulating ability at a mere R-0.2 per inch; however it does have a relatively good thermal mass. Note that the above examples all use the U.S. (non-SI) definition for R-value. When determining the overall thermal resistance of a building assembly such as a wall or roof, the insulating effect of the surface air film is added to the thermal resistance of the other materials. In practice the above surface values are used for floors, ceilings, and
Straw-bale construction in that area using only the assembly consisting of bales, lath and plaster. The technique was used successfully for strawbale housing in rural China. Straw bale domes along the Syrio-African rift at Kibbutz Lotan have an interior geodesic frame of steel pipes. Another method to reap the benefits of straw is to incorporate straw-bale walls into a pre-existing structure. Compressed straw bales have a wide range of documented R-value. R-value is a measurement of a materials insulating quality, higher the number the more insulating. The reported R-value ranges from 17-55 (in American units) or 3-9.6 (in SI) depending on the