Shelter -- one of the most basic human needs -- can be a very complex thing to construct. For the next installment of requirements development for the Peak Oil Homestead Project, we’ll explore how we should specify our housing needs to account for Peak Oil.
Many of the weather input requirements defined in Section 1.1.1 of the Objectives & Requirements Document (doc) have “child” requirements in the various subsystems. For the Structural Subsystem we have:
The structural system shall withstand high-peak temperatures of less than or equal to 115°F for 7 consecutive days with a minimum of damage.
E.g. your house won’t melt, your barn won’t catch fire, no thermal cracking, etc.
The structural system shall withstand low-peak temperature greater than or equal to -30°F for 7 consecutive days.
The structural system shall withstand less than or equal to 4 feet of snow for 7 consecutive days.
The structural system shall withstand greater than or equal to 10 inches (equivalent) of precipitation per year.
The structural system shall withstand less than or equal to 50 inches (equivalent) of precipitation per year.
The structural system shall withstand sustained winds of less than or equal to 60 miles per hour for 72 consecutive hours.
Output requirements
The structural system shall provide protection for not less than 4 people from tornadic winds (less than or equal to 350 miles per hour).
This would drive you, for example, to include a basement, storm cellar, or even an above-ground concrete bunker.
The structural system shall provide a location for storing a 12-months’ supply of food.
The structural system shall provide a location for storing a 6-months’ supply of food for livestock.
This is set at 6 months due to the difficulty of storing large quantities of hay and feed for longer than this amount of time and the ability of most livestock to forage. Depending on your critter mix this requirement may need adjustment.
Interface requirements
The structural system shall distribute structural load so as not to exceed the load-bearing capacity of the soil.
Physical requirements
The structural system shall have an average effective insulation value of no less than R-30 for human living space.
The structural system shall minimize airflow through insulation.
Standards and Protocol requirements
The structural system shall meet all applicable structural codes.
Sustainability requirements
The structural system shall provide soil erosion control measures during construction.
The structural system shall use recycled materials for construction wherever possible.
This is admittedly weak requirement, but it is also a very difficult one to meet. Requiring 100% recyclability would likely place the schedule at risk. That said, 100% recyclability is possible.
Safety
The structural system shall provide personal protective equipment per OSHA standards.
This should include both during construction and hazardous maintenance activities. It might include things like hard hats, dust masks, or even rubber boots for wading into the hog pen.
The structural system shall provide livestock enclosures per the Crop and Livestock Enclosure Specification.
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