The following is from Katherine Mortimer (not verified) on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 12:51 on https://www.buildinggreen.com/news-article/do-adobe-homes-really-work-all-climates-%E2%80%93-book-re...
"I designed, built and live in one in Santa Fe. The point about insulation misses the mark. Adobe's beneficial properties are it's thermal storage and, if you make them yourselves so labor is not a factor, cost. Santa Fe has 6073 heating degree days and 414 cooling degree days and Taos, to our north, is quite a bit colder and is home to the Earthships which use the thermal storage properties of adobe to create self sustaining homes. The idea is to insulate outside of the adobe's and ensure that the adobe's are placed within the sunpath through windows. Most of my adobes are on interior walls. That way they collect the winter, low sun heat during the day and re-radiate it back at night. There is a little time delay and we find that while we pile on the blankets when we go to bed, around 1 a.m. we kick them off as the head from the walls has warmed the house quite nicely by then. We use overhangs over our southern windows to keep unwanted summer sun out.
My concerns with using adobe in Vermont is how often it is overcast in the winter and the need to keep adobe's dry, Santa Fe has 320 sunny days per year, much higher than the national average. We find we have to light the woodstove if it is overcast longer than a day or two in a row. Below zero temps aren't a problem as long as the sun is out. (We don't have any conventional heating or cooling system). Adobe's are unfired so if they get wet, they will eventually return to their origial soil condition so it is critical they stay dry. Leaks are inevitable so this is an inportant maintenance issue. Also, if water gets trapped in the walls and can't evaporate out, the decomposition can continue even when a leak has been fixed. Since you need to insulate the exterior of the building, and since most insulation is closed-cell and therefore a vapor barrier, then you need to ensure that the interior of the home is not coated with a vapor barrier. Natural clay finsihes do this and are traditional in New Mexico. Alternatively, you can only use interior walls for your adobe's and then the concern is far less."
