want to build a freeze resistant building, IDEAS?

[4570Man]

I'm not a horse guy so be patient with me.... how many BTUs of heat does a horse put out??

Based on the chart I found .8 btu per pound of body weight at rest and double that with moderate activity.

 

[kthompson]

May be way off here but: think you have a good bit of sun there with that light of snow, could you make boxes and paint the inside black and use copper would probably be best at heat exchange place them on the roof to absorb the winter sun heat and running an antifreeze mixture through it to help heat the building? Also you might want to look at using square bales of hay for insulation. Not sure what they spray them with when doing such but the keep showing even houses built in your general part of the world for the outside walls.

 

[Normanc]

Reading your post and feeling a little envious! I think you are on the right track going with the foam block foundation and a reinforced concrete slab poured inside. I suggest a couple of things... consider adding a minimum of 2” of extruded foam insulation below the slab, this will aid in keeping heat in. Secondly, ensure you waterproof the exterior concrete walls from the top of backfill down to an elevation below the bottom of the concrete floor slab. Ensure you have a drain taking water away from around the perimeter of the building. You would place the drain so it is below the underside of the slab.
Lastly I would orient the building so it faces south and minimize any openings in north end.

 

[aczlan]

Reading your post and feeling a little envious! I think you are on the right track going with the foam block foundation and a reinforced concrete slab poured inside. I suggest a couple of things... consider adding a minimum of 2” of extruded foam insulation below the slab, this will aid in keeping heat in. Secondly, ensure you waterproof the exterior concrete walls from the top of backfill down to an elevation below the bottom of the concrete floor slab. Ensure you have a drain taking water away from around the perimeter of the building. You would place the drain so it is below the underside of the slab.
Lastly I would orient the building so it faces south and minimize any openings in north end.

Actually, the OP might want to leave it uninsulated underneath if its not going to be heated and will be set into the earth. It can pick up heat from below the frost layer that way.
They would want to put down at least 2" of insulation next to the walls (next to the footings) to keep cold from coming in at the sides.
If the funds are available it might be worth trenching in some geothermal type piping below the frost layer and putting in tubes in the floor to let you circulate the glycol from the geothermal piping through the floor. That would theoretically keep the floor above freezing and would let the OP add some heat for very little energy, probably a low enough amount to be supplied by solar if this is a off-grid storage building.

Aaron Z

 

[ovrszd]

Based on the chart I found .8 btu per pound of body weight at rest and double that with moderate activity.

Wow, that's substantial if confined in a tight building. Thanks for searching that!!!

 

[Gofast]

You should check out these greenhouses the are in CO and grow plants year around.

Greenhouses

I have an Aquaponics System in a Greenhouse build off these designs.

 

[Joe Malovich]

You might be interested in passive house (or passivhaus as it was originally called) construction. Basic recipe is this: insulate the crap out of it (R-40 everywhere, R70 ceilings minimum), add a bunch of thermal mass in the form of concrete or brick, Add south facing glazing that is triple pane with high solar transmittance with sufficient overhang to shade the windows in the summer. This will heat the structure during the day and the mass will get the structure through the night.

Alternatively take all of that extra money you would have spent digging and insulating and glazing and just throw some solar panels on the roof and use that power to heat. You can use solar thermal collectors alternatively.

Air Seal diligently, you don't want your heat to be blown out through or past all of the insulation.