Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 16, 2009 4:08 pm I hear a lot about your house should face north, but not quite sure why or how important it is. I am trying to work out whether to swop my house around. North will face my garage (on a diagonal way .. sort of at 7 o'clock . if that makes sense? My bedroom 2 and 3 are also on that side. South (at 1 o'clock on the clockface) will hit the alfresco and family room.
What are your thoughts? Re: North facing house 2Mar 16, 2009 4:52 pm Its about solar passive design....with the Living Area of the house facing north with adequate windows in this location, the winter sun will warm the house as it's at a lower angle and the rays of sun will hit the concrete slab (thermal mass) and keep it warm during winter. In summer the house will stay cooler as the eaves or other solar reduction structure (trees etc) minimize the heat coming into the house. The way your house is currently set-out means that the Summer Sun will directly hit the alfresco and familly room heating the house up more (meaning you need more aircon/heating etc)...Hope that makes some sense!
Regards pdaemon Re: North facing house 3Mar 16, 2009 5:11 pm There seems to have been a plethora of posts on this topic lately so forgive me if I am repeating myself
Whether your house should face North depends on what you have at the front of the house - for many houses this would mean only the main bedroom faces north. Our house faces north and we have main bedroom and lounge at the front. Most relevant is which way your liveing areas face, especially any large windows or sliding/bifold doors and the outdoor liveing area, ie 'the alfresco'. (in the context of this topic I am using the term 'alfresco' to mean any sort of outdoor liveing area ) Our house has double sliding doors opening onto an alfresco area on the side, which faces East. As I have said several times before, the thing to avoid is usually an alfresco faceing west - you cop the full heat and glare of the afternoon sun. A south faceing alfresco would be cooller and darker - may be a problem in cool dark areas of Australia, say, Tasmania, but not such a bad idea in a hot dry area such as I live in Whyalla, SA. So, Mtuba, consider your floor plan in the context of your location in Australia before deciding and perhaps flip your floor plan and/or play around with moving windows if neccesary. Re: North facing house 6Mar 16, 2009 5:38 pm Helyn The sun rises in the East and sets in the West in the whole of Australia, pdaemon (including Perth, I think ) I don't understand your comment ??? I think he means the alfresco roof would act like a verandah and stop the sun coming through the windows. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Facing north 7Mar 16, 2009 6:14 pm It's not out of the question, to face living areas south and sometimes there is no choice. It is nice in winter to let sun come inside the house. If you can get some high 'clerestory' windows above the roof line of your garage and bedrooms, you could still get winter sun into the south side of the house. Keeping the windows small to non-existent on the east and west facades will help a great deal with our Perth heat waves. As will shading on these sides. Re: North facing house 8Mar 16, 2009 7:22 pm What if you've got living areas facing North East. Is that also a fairly good orientation? Thanks Re: North facing house 9Mar 16, 2009 7:29 pm ed @ EcoClassic Helyn The sun rises in the East and sets in the West in the whole of Australia, pdaemon (including Perth, I think ) I don't understand your comment ??? I think he means the alfresco roof would act like a verandah and stop the sun coming through the windows. Ed Well, yes, I guess if you have large windows faceing west, it would be good to somehow shade them, but the alfresco roof would only block some of the sun and anyway it would be full glare in the alfresco itself - you would need your sunglasses to sit outside Wonderland, North east is good Re: North facing house 12Mar 16, 2009 9:48 pm Mtuba2 I hear a lot about your house should face north, but not quite sure why or how important it is. Correction orientation of your rooms, windows and shading can make a significant difference to artificial heating and cooling requirements. Hard to quantify as it depends on climate but at least 30% reduction if you read Dan Chiras's book on passive solar (and high as 90%) The general rule is: North - living areas, eaves deep enough to exclude high summer sun but short enough to admit low winter sun, glazing area 15-20% of total house floor area South - sleeping quarters, eaves generally not required for shading, glazing area < 4% West/East - utliliy areas, laundry, storage, bathrooms, garage, difficult to shade completely even with 1 metre eaves, vertical awnings for summer, glazing area < 4% each side The idea is that living areas should be comfortably warm and has maximal daylighting. The bedrooms needs less light and warmth because we sleep 'cooler'. Other areas are not constantly occupied and so it is less important if they suffer summer heat extremes. The glazing proportions are the best solution of getting enough warmth during winter but not overheating the house in summer. Windows are a significant source of heat loss at night time so are best insulated with window coverings and/or double glazing. For more information: http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/fs41.html The issue of covered outdoor entertainment areas can be tricky. On the North it may block valuable winter sun from entering the house itself. On the South it may end up being too cold or dark. If on the east or west there are problems with excessive glare and heat. You may need to add some shades. It depends on your particular situation, climate and usage of the outdoor section. Here is a compromise that gives solar protection but preserves views: http://www.reflectiveblinds.com.au/index.html Re: North facing house 14Mar 17, 2009 2:41 pm According to that link, our house is basically located at the worst orientation angle
The house is facing North-East (1 o'clock), and the living area (family room) is on the western side of it. The alfresco is facing south-west (at 7 o'clock orientation ). The house will be freezing in Winter and hot in Summer FANTASTIC Re: North facing house 15Mar 17, 2009 6:24 pm iTalk According to that link, our house is basically located at the worst orientation angle I found the Bardot plan here: http://www.barrettgroup.com.au/#homeviewer/bardot/29 All is not lost. It just means you will need to use more creative 'tweaks' and a few added devices. - Can you retain the footprint and move the rooms around e.g push the MBR back where the living room is and bring the living areas forward? - If that is too hard than you might be able to 'flip' the plan (mirror image) so the living areas are on the east side to greet the morning sun at the cooler time of the day. This comes at the sacrifice of less direct light and heat from midday onwards. The garage will end up on the west to shield part of the house from the afternoon sun. - Get some vertical see-through awnings that can block summer sun but let light through on the west side. - If views on the west are not that important then reducing the window areas retaining the top half where more of it stays under shade from the eave but still lets indirect light through. - Consider skylights to bring in more light to the dim living areas. These need to be designed well so that they don't let too much heat during summer or lose heat upward during winter. Velux has a good design. - Reflective glazing treatment will help reduce excessive western sun (at the expense of some light) but this might compromise winter heat gains. - Especially line the western wall cavity with foil to act as a thermal radiant barrier from the afternoon sun Next think about cross ventilation. Consider where your summer cooling breezes are coming from. Either casement windows or landscaping will help direct the moving air inside. Have enough windows downwind to let the breeze through. Also use landscaping to act as windbreaks from cold winter winds. Finally, making the house air tight with weatherseals to doors and windows and adequate insulation to prevent either heat escaping (if the heater is on) or entering (if using air con). Backdraft dampers to fans and vents also reduce unnecessary cold air entry in winter. Re: North facing house 16Mar 17, 2009 7:15 pm Wow dymonite69,
You've covered all the small bits and pieces. I was thinking of mirroring our floorplan after reading this link http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/fs41.html This is the easiest option I believe. We'll see how it goes We just needs to say what the Council would say about it. Does it take long for the Council to reply ? Do I have to contact them, or should I let the builder do that ? Thanks mate Re: North facing house 17Mar 18, 2009 6:34 pm [quote="iTalk"]According to that link, our house is basically located at the worst orientation angle [/quote]
I thought your builder was supposed to be the one to point all that out to you!?? That's a real shame that they didn't say anything when doing the site plan... Best of luck with changes - you've got some good ideas there dynamite. Re: North facing house 18Mar 18, 2009 6:35 pm [quote="iTalk"]According to that link, our house is basically located at the worst orientation angle [/quote]
I thought your builder was supposed to be the one to point all that out to you!?? That's a real shame that they didn't say anything when doing the site plan... Best of luck with changes - you've got some good ideas there dynamite. The warning is on the sticker on the door too. Second the aluminium powdercoat 6 18414 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 20071 Petercurtis You able to contact the certifier and get a copy of your structural plans, if they are not in your contract. If your home was approved via CDC then they… 1 20188 |