musings on insulation

Having decided to have a wooden ceiling - partly because I like the aesthetic of wood, partly because I am hoping I will be able to find suitable wood cheaply/free second hand and partly because I know Dad can 'do stuff' with wood and I will be able to as well - the next question becomes what to insulate the ceiling with?  I'm going to use wool I think.  It fits with the natural materials I am using in the rest of the house, doesn't burn easily and is a great insulator.

I am hoping that the council permission stuff won't require insulation in the walls as cob relies on thermal mass rather than insulation to regulate the temperature.  If they do require it I will turn to cob/strawbale hybrid, at least on the southern wall.  Using flakes from a strawbale sandwiched between layers of cob.  I need to do more research on this though.

Speaking of the southern wall, I am hoping to make use of the southern wall (which won't get sun) and build a cold store and dry store on that side of the house.  The plan at the moment is to build a drystore off the kitchen and as you go through the dry store have the coolstore on the other side.  I'll slope the floor down through the drystore to the coolstore so that the cold air pools in that area of the house and hopefully that will mean I don't need a fridge.

Which brings me to noting down the fact that I want to have the least amount of electricity I can.  I am hoping that I will only need one or two power points installed.  I would like to try and get by with alternative lighting (which I think I have mentioned before) and the bare minimum of things that need electricity - the freezer (especially if I start to grow animals for food), somewhere to charge up the computer and mobile and maybe a food processor.  Cooking and hot water will be taken care of by the stove (also some of the heating) and I will  build a fireplace in the living area if more heating is needed.  I am also contemplating a solar hot water system for summer so that I don't have to have the stove lit all the time.