Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Jul 11, 2019 10:06 pm Hiya, long time lurker, first time poster. I tried searching around to see if anybody else has asked a similar question but I couldn't find it. Possibly I'm not good at using the search feature. I'm the type of person who likes to do a lot of research upfront before committing any money. So the background is I would like to build a house with big floor to ceiling, wall to wall glass that is west facing so I can enjoy the sunset and the views in general from inside my house. Think something like the below, but maybe 7m wide, 5m high. These are just approximate dimensions, I will likely have to go smaller depending on cost. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I've been looking for sloping land on a hilltop for this purpose and have found a few different lots for sale(haven't made an offer on any of them). My problem is, I live in Perth. Perth is hot, especially in the summer. So I'm worried that this will basically cook the inside of my house during the summer months. The only thing I can think of at the moment to deal with this would be double glazing and reflective film on the glass. Would that be enough? And are there other methods of preserving the light while keeping out the heat? Re: west facing windows in Perth and the heat 2Jul 11, 2019 10:24 pm Reflective film works really well at keeping the sun out. Do you really need floor to ceiling windows if you want to see the sunset? . . . . you will looking at it from a sitting position so your eyeline will be around a m above floor level so a cill 600mm from the floor won't really spoil the view About the only other thing is arranging external shading to keep the light off the windows until late in the afternoon. 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. Re: west facing windows in Perth and the heat 3Jul 11, 2019 11:11 pm well it's not just the sunset, it's been a lifelong dream to life in a house with that type of glass wall effectively on one side of the house because it's reminiscent of my parent's house from long ago. I spent my childhood in a house that backed up on to a cliff and we had a 1 story wall to wall, floor to ceiling glass wall on the backside that overlooks the cliff and the valleys below it. So it's just the general expansive view. TBH if I could find land that slopes differently, I wouldn't mind if the glass wall/windows were pointing in a different direction. It's just all the land that I've found so far has been ones where it needs to be on the west or north west side to take advantage of the views. Edit: would external shading be useful in the afternoon? I can imagine they would be useful at midday west facing windows in Perth and the heat 4Jul 12, 2019 8:44 am IsabellaBoots I'm the type of person who likes to do a lot of research upfront before committing any money. If you really want to do research, then read this to understand the science around dwelling orientation: http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation You can then go on to read other sections of the website depending on what you want to know about passive design, windows, shading and anything else about building a house. IsabellaBoots So the background is I would like to build a house with big floor to ceiling, wall to wall glass that is west facing so I can enjoy the sunset and the views in general from inside my house... My problem is, I live in Perth. Perth is hot, especially in the summer. So I'm worried that this will basically cook the inside of my house during the summer months. We have a wall of double-glazed thermally-broken high-performance windows on our house, nearly 4m tall and perhaps 20m across in total. We live in an Alpine area, where it also gets very hot in summer, so this is part of the passive design of our house and faces north (for obvious reasons you will discover if you read the website I mentioned above). The trouble you face is that that western sun is generally the most problematic when considering heat, as this diagram demonstrates. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ In winter, the effect of western and eastern sun on vertical surfaces is minimal, and may even be welcome in some cases, but in summer the solar radiation from the west and east is high. Because the position the sun sets changes as we move from the summer to winter equinoxes and back again, you can tweak the orientation to deal with the western sun, but it's not perfect because there are many other factors at play. For that reason, we have no windows on the western side of our house, but we still get western sun - some of it unwelcome in summer. IsabellaBoots The only thing I can think of at the moment to deal with this would be double glazing and reflective film on the glass. Would that be enough? And are there other methods of preserving the light while keeping out the heat? Orientation, and fundamental house design that maximises this through considering window positioning and shading from eaves, is the best and most economical way to deal with environmental factors. You could ignore these and use artificial measures to deal with these factors, but then you are just using money to fight nature. However, if the sunset is so important that you want to take that approach, as an owner of double-glazed thermally-broken high-performance windows I would suggest you will want much more - otherwise you'll just end up using blinds to beat the heat in warmer months, defeating the reason you installed the windows in the first place. If it was me, I would seriously consider how much time I was going to spend wistfully staring at the sunset. Living in a house where I can stare out at the view all day, I can tell you that you will not do that nearly as much as you would like, and certainly not so much that it would be worth compromising your house's thermal comfort. I suggest it would be better to find a block with stunning northern views and open views to the west, design the house around the northern aspect and set up a nice place in the garden where you can watch the sunset when the desired and time permits. Re: west facing windows in Perth and the heat 5Jul 12, 2019 11:27 am thx for the info. Very useful website and also I didn't know anything about thermally broken windows. Quote: I suggest it would be better to find a block with stunning northern views and open views to the west, design the house around the northern aspect and set up a nice place in the garden where you can watch the sunset when the desired and time permits. Oh I would love to if I can find that kind of lot. Like I said, all the ones I could find so far are slopes to the west, although there is one that is north west. I might go take a look at that lot this weekend and see what the surroundings are like. This does confirm my fears that I can't/shouldn't build a house with the big glass walls facing directly west. But depending on the site maybe I can get away with one that faces northwest especially since according to that website solar north is at least a few degrees west when living in Perth. Quote: I would suggest you will want much more Looking at that website, there might be spots where I can plant some strategic trees to shade during summer. Quote: If it was me, I would seriously consider how much time I was going to spend wistfully staring at the sunset. Living in a house where I can stare out at the view all day, I can tell you that you will not do that nearly as much as you would like, and certainly not so much that it would be worth compromising your house's thermal comfort. oh I am very much a home person, even in my current house where the views are not that great I'm always just sitting there watching the view. I'm not the type who likes to go out eating/drinking etc. Plus the bigger plan is to also build a granny flat for my parents and I know they also love sitting around watching the view while chatting/drinking tea. Re: west facing windows in Perth and the heat 6Jul 20, 2019 3:01 pm Great post by arcadelt, agree with everything they've said. OP, good to see you've been looking through the Your Home website. It's extremely useful. I'd recommend that you continue looking for the right block. I'd say NW facing glass is as bad as W facing glass. As it's also very difficult to shade, & the sun is in this direction at the hottest time of the day. As you've probably learnt, double glazing does nothing to inhibit sunlight heating a home. Double glazing is effective against conduction (that is the transfer of heat/coolth from the air, through you windows & into your home). But it does virtually nothing for radiation (direct sunlight). Films or low-e glass can be somewhat effective, but nowhere near as effective as an insulated wall. Film on a large expanse of west facing glass would be like a band aid on a large open wound. As I mentioned, keep looking for the appropriate block. Large windows facing west would be the least preferred orientation. Then South I'd think, as they leak too much heat in winter. East is similar to west, & is difficult to shade, but occurs at a cooler time of the day. For large East facing expanses of glass I'd recommend an east facing covered alfresco area & external shutters to help shade the glass (this can also help western glass somewhat). North facing glass is by far the best, with appropriate length eaves. It might be a bit darker in the mornings but the light is still light, so you should be getting it. Similar to what you see from your western windows 3 19969 The warning is on the sticker on the door too. Second the aluminium powdercoat 6 18101 There may be answers here but can't find anything. I have a closed in veranda, four windows. North facing, just had sunblock blinds installed. A bit cooler (actually… 0 2966 |