u/Marsupial_Prudent

I live in a zone 6 climate so a heater (i was thinking a rocket mass heater) really feels necessary. There are short days during winter (about 6hrs at 70%) so I'm not sure if thermal mass is even worth designing around or if I should focus on insulation for the northern wall.

would it be efficient to have the northern wall be filled with 8" of a straw/clay mixture for high insulation and (1) 110 gallon aquarium tank filled with rain water as a trombe wall? A part of me wants to have the northern wall be a dry stack CB structure for the thermal mass and use snow as insulation on the outside if it snows.

So far the non-negotiables seem to be: Swedish Skirt/insulating the foundation and a sloped roof (30% seems to be the consensus)

I know insulation and thermal mass are opposite processes so I'm wondering if there's one I should prioritize. I'd hate to do a bunch or research and designing on something that doesn't actually change temp.