Thomas Kinstle

These bees are interesting.  One specie is thought to be the only natural polinator of the world's vanilla supply.  Though not much use in North America, probably would need a green house with a constant food supply because they lack the preprogramming to store honey for winter.

This page does a good job explaining where and when you may want to use thermal mass (without the modern mysticism)

Thermal Mass

Keep in mind when they say cool or cold climates they may mean something a little different in Australia than where you live.

Terry, this is what I mean by Thermodynamics "mass does not conduct heat "away" it is renewed internal and hidden with phase change" & "moisture and airflows or vapor pressures, along with many other interactive dynamic material properties". These theories/calculations have less do with mass or insulation than maintaining a closed system.

You mentioned human factors as well: A dry air tight home conserves heat better, but feels colder to people because the air does not conduct heat very well. A damp air tight house grows mold. In order to avoid these problems you exchange air or water with the outside so it is no longer a closed system.

I am sure the people at ORNL are very smart, but they are doing grant based research and not so much applied or independent research.

I think we would both agree mass can be good to moderate internal temperatures. However mass as an outer wall (versus straw insulation) will conduct the heat away. Thermodynamics works well in lab settings because it is based on observed lab values. If it can realistically be applied to a house it would be amazing but I would still be skeptical......then again I am skeptical of the entire theory because is does not account for most of the mass and energy in the universe.

Thermal Mass vs. Insulation.

From what I understand on this topic, thermal mass only works well in climates with large daily temperature changes. Think of high altitude deserts (hot during the day cold at night). The idea is the mass absorbed heat during the day and releases it at night. In places that are cold for several months, and then hot for a few months, good insulation is much more practical.

Farmers can adjust how tight the straw bales are on their baler. The main issue though is how tough the strings holding the bales together are; sometimes you pick up a bale held together with hemp twine and they explode.....so you may save some time looking for bales held with plastic twine or wire.