Bamboo buildings - any thoughts?

[Kris Krieger]

"EDS" wrote in news:kfWdnfcIp_HkzPPVnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

I looked int those - great item, but IIRC they draw too much power for what I'm trying to do. But LED brightsness has gotten impressive overall!

Now, you can even get what's called "warm white", but I haven't seen a Warm White that also pumps out lotsa Lumens.

So far, I've collected three "example application circuits" from the Maxim website (I suppose one could make some sort fo case for this being at least

*sorta* related to things architectural ):

- how to use 2 ICs (MAX866 and MAX to generate 5V from low-voltage Solar Cells

- using a battery pack controller DS2715 (between the above, and the batteries) to charge from 1 to 10 NiMH AA batteries (I chose NiMH becaus ethey're readily available, less susceptable to "memory effect" than NiCads, and *much* l;ess expensive than Li-Ion)

- using an LED driver (MAX1848) to drive four or six whte LEDs (non-Puck, just the regular 3.2V-3.4V, 20 or so mA types).

OTOH, I got the thought a couple days ago that maybe I need to look for "Solar Christmas Lights"...

The main "catches" in what I want to do are: (1) I want to crank out as many lumens as possible (since all the potential customers etc. polled, including myself!, have all complained about the dimness of existing solar lights), whit itself could be solved (possibly) by adapting a Solar Christmas Light string; and The Biggie, (2) I want to be able to charge the batteries as fast as possible from the solar cells, the reason being that current lights are pretty much dependent upon receiving a good 8 hours of bright.clear sunlight, which just doesn't cut the mustard if the weather is not perfectly clear, and/or the days are shorter (as in, during Winter); and (3) I'm trying to keep the cost down (not "cheap", just not excessive).

THe problem, of course, is that when I started this project, *ALL* I knew about electronics was that "a resistor constricts energy flow ", and "there is some set of formulae that relate volts, amps, resistance, and 'other stuff'..."

IOW, next to Nill =:-o

So I'm trying to design a circuit without really knowing what th eheck I'm doing, because, although I technically "should", I'm not going back to college to try to take a full course in the topic...

So it is, as the saying goes, "a real trip". THe battery-charger circuit is especially troublesome, because the Application Notes describing "typical switchmode appliction for a 3-cell NiMH stack" state that certain resistor, etc., ratings are for 600mA, but the App Note for the "generating

5V" circuit describes the output as being "5V at 500mA", and deos not specify how many mA have to be *input* (tho' it creates those 5V from an input of between 0.8V and 4.5V).

So talk about a "crash course"...especially from someone who barely passed the second semester of Physics, and at that, back in 1979 - Yikes =8-O !

I can't decide whether it's clever, or just plain psychotic

Meanwhile, finished INtroductory Glass Fusing/kilnforming. Fascinating, the results can be beautiful in the right hands, but I have a very long way to go (esp. re: my glas scuttign technique) before jumping in to the expense of a kiln - my instructor rents kiln time starting at about $60 per piece, becsue the energy to do it is so expensive, but i might give that a try first - well, after I get better at designing and 'cutting', since designing for hot glass is rather different from designing for copper foil (itself differnt IMO from designing for lead came).

OTOH, if I can actually manage to pull all of this together (Cu foil, fusing, lighting), the possibilities are astounding - I can imagine solar- powered fused-glass installations, for example. Or something like what you described, addin in solar-recharging for those batteries, and incorporating that lighted window feature with various artistic glass techniques... It kinda gets me all sortsa excited

[Kris Krieger]

Troppo wrote in news:Xns9AD243519DE2Dtroppo19notsohotmail@210.8.230.25:

Cool.

I've seen recycled items (wood, bricks, and so on) in pictures, and from what I've seen, you can get things that are just way beyond what's currently available, and/or quite a unique look. I think that such recycled items are things one can use onyl when one has a place custom- designed, and at that, by someone who knows how to get hold of recycled materials.

GOod to keep in mind. I have a small staple gun that also deals with brads, which is quite useful, espcially since it's useable either Righty or Lefty (I use either/both for most things). Not an air-gun tyupe, just a spring-loaded thing, but still good for little projects ;)

Crazy stuff. But proof that there is a difference between having info, and knowing how to *use/integrate* info ;)

[Kris Krieger]

"Ken S. Tucker" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I didn't mean to imply that was the case, just that this is a phemonenon I've come across a lot through the years. It's just something that can be a deterrent for some folks, and an annoyance to those of us who are more pighead...OOPS!, *determined*, yeah, that's what I meant to say, determined...!

WHich is why I was confused. WHich in turn brings out my compulsively pedantic side =:-o

((Plus Kekule is one of my favorite examples, so resisting the urge to mention him is almost impossible ;) ))

I don't recall, but i'm thinking more about areas, as mentioned, where Bamboo grws well and fast, but trees tend to struggle and/or grow really slowly.

It's along the lines of "designing for the local conditions" - sometime,s materials and designs can be successfully brought from one area and used in another, but often, the opposite is true: what works well in one climate and geographical location can be a disaster in another climate and geogrpahical area. Both are considerations, becasue even if 2 areas have technically-similar climates, other factors (from geology to economics) are often different, based upon the location.

Wood shingles/clapboard makes a good example - worked well in some areas, but in Houston, combining the heat plus the humidity (subtropical climate) dramatically shortens the life of any sort of wood cladding. People still *use* it, but it rots quickly and encourages termites (esp. when people pile mulch right up to the slab). IN Vancouver, there were problem with the newer homes that used Acrylic stucco - it is good in California, because it can exm pand and contract with the temperature extremes experienced in arid and semi-arid climates, but it's prone to water infiltration in wet climates. In the Houston area, what gets called "stucco" has also gotten such a bad reputation, in part due to imporper material and in part due to poor application, that many insureance companies simply won't cover it against damage, and most insist upon a rigorous set of installation specifications.

With Bamboo, I'm sure that a purely-Bamboo stucture here wouldn't last a very long time; OTOH, given the size and strangth of that Giant Timber Bamboo, and of course if good attachment methods could be worked out, I could see it working out for certain components of a structure, especially given how well it seems to grow in this area, and places like Florida for example. If nothing else, I wonder whether it could work out for things like Gazebos and Sheds, which currently use wood products but typically are short-lived structures.

I just don't think it ought to be discounted out-of-hand, depending upon what area is being considered. In that respect, it's like Adobe or rammed earth - both can work well in someplace like Arizona, or areas of New Mexico and California, but prob. not in Houston or Vancouver. It relates to the whole idea of Indigenous Architecture - how and why certain building styles develop, and certain materials become widely used, is certain areas and climates. Like, if I had to move to Tornado Ally, I'd want a robust concrete structure, or at the very least, a "safe room" if there was no convertable basement - but most definitely *NOT* a bamboo house

[REBel]

I keep thinking about the joinery used in wicker lawn furniture that frequently is built around a bamboo frame. Perhaps the same techniques, on a larger scale, would be viable for buildings.

[Kris Krieger]

REBel wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I don't know whetehr that'd be sttong enough - I have to look inot it more and see how modern bamboo structures are done. I've no idea whetehr one could, for example, use bamboo in conjunction with traditional building techniques - for example, in cross-bracing. I'd have to look into it.

- K.

[Charles Bishop]

When I was in Hong Kong several years ago, they used bamboo scaffolding to go up, ummm, 6 stories (maybe more, I've forgotten). Scaffolding certainly doesn't require the spans tht houses would, though. Also, if you enclosed the bamboo framing, you wouldn't be able to keep tabs on the method used to secure one to another.

[RicodJour]

Well, it's technology and materials that they've been working with for thousands of years - I don't think they're that concerned about it.

Best link I've seen:

R

[Kris Krieger]

[e-mail] (Charles Bishop) wrote in news:[e-mail]3. net:

Good point. Since houses in less temperate zones need to be able to accomidate insulation, I guess that in and of itself might put the proverbial Kabosh on the idea...

- K.