Design & Retrofitting
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DESIGN & RETROFITTING
LAND-SHAPING & FOOD GARDENS
Design For Climate Basics
1.1 Orientation & Layout
Where possible look for a house with a Northerly orientation, the living areas facing True North* and the ‘short’ walls of the house facing East and West. This provides less surface area for the sun to heat up during early morning and late afternoon in Summer when it sits low in the sky for a long time. Stopping summer sun from hitting these walls is what we are after here.
Combine this with:
1 heavy insulation of these short walls (and/or external shades such as vertical screens, trellises and vegetation)
2 minimal glazing on these sides (except what you absolutely need it for cross-ventilation) and make sure they are well-shaded to further decrease the effect of Summer heat penetrating the house.
A quick search of the Bureau of Meteorology's website will give you the history of rainfall patterns and wind directions during various times of the year for that area, so you'll have a better idea of windows and doors you'd need to change to promote airflow, what areas to protect from storms etc - if you're about to go back for a second look at a house or block of land. (Of course, a 2 storey building next door can block any beneficial summer evening breezes too, so always look at what's going on closer to home once you've established the local patterns.
Like all of the info on this page, it's easiest when you are starting from scratch, but that isn't the case with most property purchases, so if your block does not allow a long East-West axis, or you are buying an existing house, it's important to be able to tweak the layout easily if necessary (see Renovators Checklist at end of page)
More Info: Your Home Technical Manual - Passive Design
In warmer climates, plans that are one room wide, or incorporate breezeways or operable walls to connect and cool spaces in the warmer months, while also being able to be 'locked down' or zoned in winter - are ideal. The key to good subtropical design is flexibility. Note: Like water, air likes to take the most direct path – for good cross-ventilation, you need to place openings opposite each other. A window in one wall, without a corresponding opening opposite, won’t maximise air flow through a space.
Other thoughts about room placement:
1 'Utility rooms' (bathrooms/laundries/garages, even robes) are good choices for SE and SW corners of a house - again to provide a 'buffer' from the low summer sun, early am and late pm.
2 Try and connect the kitchen to outdoor living space on the East or NE side of the house if possible, with easy access to a kitchen garden (permaculture people say a few hours of morning sun for a salad and herb garden with protection from Western sun is perfect).
3 Consider features like cupboards that can be designed as a wall or barrier,
rather than flat against the wall, that might also double to zone rooms.
1.2 Eaves & Windows
On the Sunshine Coast, eaves that sit out about half the distance (45%) of the height of the glazed area below them on the Northern side of the building, will allow warming sun into the living areas during winter months and keep it out during summer. Coupled with good roof insulation (where appropriate) and deciduous trees or vines on a pergola across the North face of the house, the right sized eaves will maximize the natural heating and cooling of internal spaces without the need for mechanical systems. (Also see Thermal Mass below)
North-facing glazed areas (windows and doors) should ideally be equal in area to about 20% of the floor area of the room they are located in, so in Winter, enough sun will be allowed into a room to effectively heat it. (The heat that's generated inside a room from sun passing through 1 - 1.5m2 of glass, is the same as running a small bar heater.)
Ample eaves over all windows will also allow them to be open during storms in hot months, when ventilation is important. Short East and West walls should have as few windows as possible (other than small ones to facilitate cross ventilation) and be shaded all year round.
Southern windows should be kept to a minimum, to avoid too much heat loss during Winter (from the shaded, cold side of the building) – again, just enough to provide good cross ventilation. When choosing windows for the side/s of the house that receive the cooling summer breezes, (usually NE to SE) think about side-hung or pivoting window frames that will act as a funnel or sail, to catch breezes and direct them into the house, rather than sliders (that cut off half the area to breeze) or louvres (effective, but only open straight-on from wall, and don’t have the ‘funnelling’ effect). Maybe locate a water feature outside this corner of the house, so that breezes are cooled evaporatively, before entering the house. (I'm designing an under-verandah Amilie-style clothesline on the East side of my house, so that any breezes that arrive in summer will have to go past wet washing first - it will only have a subtle, short cooling effect, but every little bit helps)
Curtains or blinds (if close fitting and heavy) are effective when ‘closing up the house’ late afternoon in winter, to keep in the warmth trapped during the day, but for summer, external shading is far more effective in keeping a room cool. In summer, once heat passes through glass, half the damage is done and the room will heat anyway, regardless of what’s hanging on the inside. (Think of how a car heats up when windows are closed and it sits in the sun). Use vegetation, eaves or shutters to keep sun off glass instead.
1.3 Thermal mass - light or heavyweight construction?
A general rule of thumb is that lightweight, elevated and highly ventilated structures are more functional nearer the coast here and North, in more tropical climates, whereas thermal mass (heavy structures that trap and store heat and cool) come into their own down south, further inland, or at higher elevations, where the diurnal range (difference between max and min daily temps) is greater than about 10 degrees C. (Average temps and climate data for your location can be found at www.bom.gov.au - ‘Climate Services’)
On the Sunshine Coast, we are lucky to have a very forgiving climate that can accommodate both types of design if done properly, (so why are we among the highest air conditioner users in Australia?) A combination of flexible ventilation and lightweight materials with some heavy thermal mass (ie heavy block wall or slab floor in the North-facing living areas), will always work well in this climate if correct eaves size means it’s kept warmed (ie by the sun hitting it) in winter and cool (shaded) in summer.Incorporating any thermal mass into buildings is a hugely important factor to get right – putting a heat sink in the wrong place, or with the wrong size eaves above, will be something you regret every summer!
More Information: Your Home Technical Manual - Thermal Mass
For more detailed information on my own design project sign up for my blog.
Quick Checklist for Renovating:
1. Look at your room layout – can you juggle spaces so that the rooms you use the most are laid out along the northern aspect? Can you connect your kitchen/living area to the NE aspect and ‘open up’ the house on summer evenings?
2. Measure the windows and glazed doors on the northern walls to ensure you have enough glazing to allow passive heating in winter. Easy to retrofit and expand if needbe?
3. Reduce the size or eliminate any unnecessary E and W windows that will cause excessive heat gain during summer, or shade with vegetation or vertical screens.
4. Eliminate, where possible, South-facing windows, except minimal ones required for cross ventilation and soft reflected light to dark rooms,to reduce heat-loss during winter.
5. Measure your eaves/verandah on the north are sized correctly to ensure you have the correct ratio of coverage to provide shading in summer (and allow sun in during winter months)
6. Look at connecting rooms or spaces so that better air flow is achieved but remember, you need to be able to close these rooms down to effectively keep them warm in winter.
7. Identify your hot and cold spots in the house that might be potential sources to connect with a heat transfer system or simple vents - and utilise any changing levels in the house (floor) to your advantage - install vents that can drag cooler air from under the house, up through warmer rooms in summer.
8. For elevated houses that are located inland (where there’s significant fluctuations between day and night temperatures) think about connecting the house to the stable ground temperature by a ‘skirt’ leaving the necessary termite inspection areas.
9. Insulate walls, ceiling and floor where appropriate, to stabilise indoor temperatures.
10. Place utility spaces (garden sheds) etc, and use vegetation to buffer the SE and SW corners of the house from winter weather, and low summer sun.
This information has been put together as a starting point only - it should not form the basis of construction work without further research and/or consultation to ensure these ideas are applicable and possible in your circumstances. As always, any supplier info pages or products mentioned, are by way of information only - I have no affiliation to any company or product, and if I do in the future, I will tell you. :)
Enjoy the journey!
'STUFF'!
ENERGY
WATER
WASTE
DESIGN & RETROFITTING
LAND-SHAPING & FOOD GARDENS
Design For Climate Basics
1.1 Orientation & Layout
Where possible look for a house with a Northerly orientation, the living areas facing True North* and the ‘short’ walls of the house facing East and West. This provides less surface area for the sun to heat up during early morning and late afternoon in Summer when it sits low in the sky for a long time. Stopping summer sun from hitting these walls is what we are after here.
Combine this with:
1 heavy insulation of these short walls (and/or external shades such as vertical screens, trellises and vegetation)
2 minimal glazing on these sides (except what you absolutely need it for cross-ventilation) and make sure they are well-shaded to further decrease the effect of Summer heat penetrating the house.
A quick search of the Bureau of Meteorology's website will give you the history of rainfall patterns and wind directions during various times of the year for that area, so you'll have a better idea of windows and doors you'd need to change to promote airflow, what areas to protect from storms etc - if you're about to go back for a second look at a house or block of land. (Of course, a 2 storey building next door can block any beneficial summer evening breezes too, so always look at what's going on closer to home once you've established the local patterns.
Like all of the info on this page, it's easiest when you are starting from scratch, but that isn't the case with most property purchases, so if your block does not allow a long East-West axis, or you are buying an existing house, it's important to be able to tweak the layout easily if necessary (see Renovators Checklist at end of page)
More Info: Your Home Technical Manual - Passive Design
In warmer climates, plans that are one room wide, or incorporate breezeways or operable walls to connect and cool spaces in the warmer months, while also being able to be 'locked down' or zoned in winter - are ideal. The key to good subtropical design is flexibility. Note: Like water, air likes to take the most direct path – for good cross-ventilation, you need to place openings opposite each other. A window in one wall, without a corresponding opening opposite, won’t maximise air flow through a space.
Other thoughts about room placement:
1 'Utility rooms' (bathrooms/laundries/garages, even robes) are good choices for SE and SW corners of a house - again to provide a 'buffer' from the low summer sun, early am and late pm.
2 Try and connect the kitchen to outdoor living space on the East or NE side of the house if possible, with easy access to a kitchen garden (permaculture people say a few hours of morning sun for a salad and herb garden with protection from Western sun is perfect).
3 Consider features like cupboards that can be designed as a wall or barrier,
rather than flat against the wall, that might also double to zone rooms.
1.2 Eaves & Windows
On the Sunshine Coast, eaves that sit out about half the distance (45%) of the height of the glazed area below them on the Northern side of the building, will allow warming sun into the living areas during winter months and keep it out during summer. Coupled with good roof insulation (where appropriate) and deciduous trees or vines on a pergola across the North face of the house, the right sized eaves will maximize the natural heating and cooling of internal spaces without the need for mechanical systems. (Also see Thermal Mass below)
North-facing glazed areas (windows and doors) should ideally be equal in area to about 20% of the floor area of the room they are located in, so in Winter, enough sun will be allowed into a room to effectively heat it. (The heat that's generated inside a room from sun passing through 1 - 1.5m2 of glass, is the same as running a small bar heater.)
Ample eaves over all windows will also allow them to be open during storms in hot months, when ventilation is important. Short East and West walls should have as few windows as possible (other than small ones to facilitate cross ventilation) and be shaded all year round.
Southern windows should be kept to a minimum, to avoid too much heat loss during Winter (from the shaded, cold side of the building) – again, just enough to provide good cross ventilation. When choosing windows for the side/s of the house that receive the cooling summer breezes, (usually NE to SE) think about side-hung or pivoting window frames that will act as a funnel or sail, to catch breezes and direct them into the house, rather than sliders (that cut off half the area to breeze) or louvres (effective, but only open straight-on from wall, and don’t have the ‘funnelling’ effect). Maybe locate a water feature outside this corner of the house, so that breezes are cooled evaporatively, before entering the house. (I'm designing an under-verandah Amilie-style clothesline on the East side of my house, so that any breezes that arrive in summer will have to go past wet washing first - it will only have a subtle, short cooling effect, but every little bit helps)
Curtains or blinds (if close fitting and heavy) are effective when ‘closing up the house’ late afternoon in winter, to keep in the warmth trapped during the day, but for summer, external shading is far more effective in keeping a room cool. In summer, once heat passes through glass, half the damage is done and the room will heat anyway, regardless of what’s hanging on the inside. (Think of how a car heats up when windows are closed and it sits in the sun). Use vegetation, eaves or shutters to keep sun off glass instead.
1.3 Thermal mass - light or heavyweight construction?
A general rule of thumb is that lightweight, elevated and highly ventilated structures are more functional nearer the coast here and North, in more tropical climates, whereas thermal mass (heavy structures that trap and store heat and cool) come into their own down south, further inland, or at higher elevations, where the diurnal range (difference between max and min daily temps) is greater than about 10 degrees C. (Average temps and climate data for your location can be found at www.bom.gov.au - ‘Climate Services’)
On the Sunshine Coast, we are lucky to have a very forgiving climate that can accommodate both types of design if done properly, (so why are we among the highest air conditioner users in Australia?) A combination of flexible ventilation and lightweight materials with some heavy thermal mass (ie heavy block wall or slab floor in the North-facing living areas), will always work well in this climate if correct eaves size means it’s kept warmed (ie by the sun hitting it) in winter and cool (shaded) in summer.Incorporating any thermal mass into buildings is a hugely important factor to get right – putting a heat sink in the wrong place, or with the wrong size eaves above, will be something you regret every summer!
More Information: Your Home Technical Manual - Thermal Mass
For more detailed information on my own design project sign up for my blog.
Quick Checklist for Renovating:
1. Look at your room layout – can you juggle spaces so that the rooms you use the most are laid out along the northern aspect? Can you connect your kitchen/living area to the NE aspect and ‘open up’ the house on summer evenings?
2. Measure the windows and glazed doors on the northern walls to ensure you have enough glazing to allow passive heating in winter. Easy to retrofit and expand if needbe?
3. Reduce the size or eliminate any unnecessary E and W windows that will cause excessive heat gain during summer, or shade with vegetation or vertical screens.
4. Eliminate, where possible, South-facing windows, except minimal ones required for cross ventilation and soft reflected light to dark rooms,to reduce heat-loss during winter.
5. Measure your eaves/verandah on the north are sized correctly to ensure you have the correct ratio of coverage to provide shading in summer (and allow sun in during winter months)
6. Look at connecting rooms or spaces so that better air flow is achieved but remember, you need to be able to close these rooms down to effectively keep them warm in winter.
7. Identify your hot and cold spots in the house that might be potential sources to connect with a heat transfer system or simple vents - and utilise any changing levels in the house (floor) to your advantage - install vents that can drag cooler air from under the house, up through warmer rooms in summer.
8. For elevated houses that are located inland (where there’s significant fluctuations between day and night temperatures) think about connecting the house to the stable ground temperature by a ‘skirt’ leaving the necessary termite inspection areas.
9. Insulate walls, ceiling and floor where appropriate, to stabilise indoor temperatures.
10. Place utility spaces (garden sheds) etc, and use vegetation to buffer the SE and SW corners of the house from winter weather, and low summer sun.
This information has been put together as a starting point only - it should not form the basis of construction work without further research and/or consultation to ensure these ideas are applicable and possible in your circumstances. As always, any supplier info pages or products mentioned, are by way of information only - I have no affiliation to any company or product, and if I do in the future, I will tell you. :)
Enjoy the journey!
IN THIS SECTION
1. Design for Climate Basics
1.1 Orientation & layout
1.2 Eaves & windows
1.3 Thermal mass
Links & resources
Note: this information is for
the Sunshine Coast, Qld approx 27S and Climate Zone 2, and should be used as a starting point for your own research
and further consultation
where necessary.
1. Design for Climate Basics
1.1 Orientation & layout
1.2 Eaves & windows
1.3 Thermal mass
Links & resources
Note: this information is for
the Sunshine Coast, Qld approx 27S and Climate Zone 2, and should be used as a starting point for your own research
and further consultation
where necessary.
* True North on the Sunshine Coast is about 10.5 degrees West of Magnetic North (that a compass points to), and is the point you
use to determine your
East-West axis. On the day of Spring and Autumn Equinox's
the sun rises due East and sets due West. (A day or two either
side is a great time to
get your bearings!)
use to determine your
East-West axis. On the day of Spring and Autumn Equinox's
the sun rises due East and sets due West. (A day or two either
side is a great time to
get your bearings!)
| my_renovators_delight.gif |
I purchased my 'renovators
delight' in the Noosa Hinterland in 2003. Above is what
I went home and scratched together after looking it over the first time (plus some pretty arrows added just now). By knowing where the prevailing breezes would come from, what the orientation was, and where summer and winter sunpaths were, it wasn't too hard to get a quick idea of the problem areas (lots) and opportunities (they were there -just harder to see) See my blog for full story.
If you want to put a 3m wide verandah on the North (like I do - above) to use the space during wet weather, then consider achieving the 45% eave ratio for summer/winter sun control,
with solid zincalume out from the wall and laserlite or similar cladding towards the outer edge (proportions not shown
in this image)
with solid zincalume out from the wall and laserlite or similar cladding towards the outer edge (proportions not shown
in this image)
links & resources
design: general
Renovating Forum - answers for everything DIY
Ecopolis' 10 development principles
Calculate 'divine proportions'
Sacred geometry in architecture
Ecocities Movement
design: sunshine coast
BOM climate data for Qld
Your Home design guide for Zone 2
My Top Ten thoughts on
creating shelter
Below: Sunpaths (print on A4 transparency)
design: general
Renovating Forum - answers for everything DIY
Ecopolis' 10 development principles
Calculate 'divine proportions'
Sacred geometry in architecture
Ecocities Movement
design: sunshine coast
BOM climate data for Qld
Your Home design guide for Zone 2
My Top Ten thoughts on
creating shelter
Below: Sunpaths (print on A4 transparency)
| Sunshine Coast Sunpaths |
