Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 May 15, 2012 10:19 am We are building a house with 900mm eaves (even though we really like modern cubic architecture with no eaves). Anyway, at contract signing our consultant was saying that in Melbourne, houses with eaves have lower energy ratings than those without because it is all about heat gain here. Is that true? Re: Eaves are bad in Melbourne? 2May 15, 2012 10:34 am I am no expert so hopefully somebody else will reply to this too but I would say that the only part of your consultant's statement that is true is that Melbourne is a warming climate - you need heating for longer than you need cooling. That said, it depends how your house is oriented - the only side eaves make any real difference to in preventing heat gain in winter is the north side. And this is also where you do want eaves in summer to reduce your heat gain and prevent you having to put on the air conditioner. 900mm eaves might be a bit big - we have 450 eaves but then you will be better off than us in the summer if you have a lot of north-facing glass. Hope this helps a bit. Re: Eaves are bad in Melbourne? 3May 15, 2012 11:49 am The best width of eaves for North EavesMelbourne is 45% of the window height. If the top of the window is 20% of the window height below the eaves you won't lose any heating effect. For a diagram see http://www.anewhouse.com.au/?p=448 You will need much wider eaves if you want them to keep west and east windows cool. One advantage of eaves is it keeps the walls dry which help reduce heat loss in wet winter conditions. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Update from me! Couldn't find the trimmer - not sure if there isn't one simply because the eave is so narrow. Went ahead with the spring toggles and it all worked out… 7 5997 The two 15mm holes are obviously not compliant. The Dept of Fair Trading would love to see this one! Do the gutters pool water after it stops raining? Although it's… 4 8264 You might be able to apply to divert the sewer at your expense. In NSW you would contact a Water services co-ordinator and they would give you advice as to whether or not… 1 16361 |