Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Dec 06, 2008 11:06 pm There was a recent article in the local paper about how the council wanted to change local planning and development laws to preserve the heritage dwellings around the neighbourhood. Whilst they are beautiful and characterful buildings they aren't particularly energy efficient.
Many of them are actually replicas of buildings from another era and geography. They often have small windows which don't allow much natural light or solar warmth into the buildings - thus increasing the lighting and heating requirements. The ceilings and walls are often not insulated. High ceilings also mean all the useful heat rises to the top of the room rather than being close down to the occupants. Because they are made of stone or double brick, it is often difficult to retrofit insulation into the walls. Since the windows are small the thermal mass of the internal masonry can't be used to advantage to store the free heat from the sun. Deep return verandahs whilst being useful to block out the summer sun also prevent the winter sun to penetrate into the living areas. Lastly the design of the buildings conform to a particular ascetic and appearance. There is no regard to the aspect of the house. The living areas, bedrooms, eaves and verandahs will have a conventional arrangement regardless of which direction the house is pointing. This could mean sleeping quarters end up on the hot (west) side of the house and the living room on the cold (south) side. To build more energy efficient dwellings we need to break away from standard conventions and show more imagination and appreciation of the particular climate, location and orientation of our homes. Re: Old style homes and energy efficiency 2Dec 10, 2008 6:47 am That we do Dyno
And personally - I think we should keep our heritage houses. It is part of our history - our heritage. The granduer of settlement - what people thought was right to build 150 years ago is important IMO - and the case that the houses are still standing, still livable and still have presence and attractive facades is testament to the times in which they were built. Lets keep them - respect them and make them as thermally good as we can to be nicer to live in without wreaking their beauty. And these houses with simple stuff like retro fitted double glazed windows, draft seals on the doors, fans in the high ceilings and the massive thermal mass of their walls, with good ceiling insulation - and a wood fire - they are quite comfortable to live in. And here is an extreme and costly enhancement - ideal if you can afford it http://www.energyarchitecture.com.au/media/21-ada-st-documentary/ ps - I've owned a lovely 1880 wide verandah thick sandstone, small windowed house - and they are not as bad as you think in winter if things are done properly - and in summer heat waves of 40+ degrees saw the house temp rise to the mid 20's inside - so the design works wonders at keeping summer heat out Steve edit - thanks Helyn for the reminder that summer is here :wink: Re: Old style homes and energy efficiency 3Dec 10, 2008 7:02 am Quote: High ceilings also mean all the useful heat rises to the top of the room rather than being close down to the occupants. Because they are made of stone or double brick, it is often difficult to retrofit insulation into the walls. Since the windows are small the thermal mass of the internal masonry can't be used to advantage to store the free heat from the sun. Deep return verandahs whilst being useful to block out the summer sun also prevent the winter sun to penetrate into the living areas. All this is being stated as disadvantages but of course depends on whether your main consideration is keeping the house warm or keeping it cool. If you live in a hot area of Australia, the old stone, high ceilinged, return verandah houses are so much cooler in summer and relatively easy to add new larger windows where you want them. Re: Old style homes and energy efficiency 4Dec 10, 2008 10:56 am Helyn Quote: High ceilings also mean all the useful heat rises to the top of the room rather than being close down to the occupants. Because they are made of stone or double brick, it is often difficult to retrofit insulation into the walls. Since the windows are small the thermal mass of the internal masonry can't be used to advantage to store the free heat from the sun. Deep return verandahs whilst being useful to block out the summer sun also prevent the winter sun to penetrate into the living areas. All this is being stated as disadvantages but of course depends on whether your main consideration is keeping the house warm or keeping it cool. If you live in a hot area of Australia, the old stone, high ceilinged, return verandah houses are so much cooler in summer and relatively easy to add new larger windows where you want them. True. I was only referring to where we living in the temperate part of Australia. The design for hot/humid conditions would also need its unique architecture. Re: Old style homes and energy efficiency 6Jan 11, 2009 4:24 pm you have to look at what we are preserving, the facade or the whole house?
Realistically the outside is what we treasure the most, if we like it or not taking things on face value is only a natural response for a human. If its the facade then thats easy but to preserve the whole house when its deemed an energy drainer is irresponsible. The houses built way back when satisfied a purpose with the technology they had Tall ceilings kept a house cooler in summer and fireplaces kept the house warmer in the winter. Keeping in mind it was English logic and their winters are alot colder than ours so they would be happy with any warmer weather lol Cooling was their biggest priority and they solved it. Sure now with air conditioning, solar, etc and a ton of research in energy self efficiency we have to re-evaluate the worth of these homes Im not suggesting demolish them all but to have a little common sense and evaluate if these homes can be modified to be energy friendly. This would mean government support so we would be waiting a while... Kitchens are like finger prints, no two are ever the same!! SmartPack did the kitchens for Channel 9's Home Made TV Show Re: Old style homes and energy efficiency 7Jan 11, 2009 9:02 pm SmartPack If its the facade then thats easy but to preserve Cooling was their biggest priority and they solved it. Sure now with air conditioning, solar, etc and a ton of research in energy self efficiency we have to re-evaluate the worth of these homes Im not suggesting demolish them all but to have a little common sense and evaluate if these homes can be modified to be energy friendly. This would mean government support so we would be waiting a while... Sometimes the facade can be a limiting factor. A deep north facing verandah or small windows is going to create problems with getting natural light and heat into the house. On the other hand, trying to place living areas on the warmer side of the house may be difficult or impractical if there is a restrictive floor plan e.g. symmetrical cottages. You don't necessarily need government support. Some interventions are very cheap. You can probably decrease your household energy requirements at least 25% with a 10K investment. A lot of people spend that amount on a plasma TV or home entertainment system. Re: Old style homes and energy efficiency 8Jan 11, 2009 11:18 pm very true, people do indulge in luxury items, i am guilty of that myself:)
True the facade can be limiting but thats when clever design and natural lighting come into play. Us aussies can find a solution for anything but theres one thing that stops us. The attitude of 'she'll be right'! We have a habit of not taking ourselves seriously enough and just pass over the solution to someone else. i.e. solar panels and its research went overseas thus costing us more to purchase back. A typical example of our short sightedness, here we are knocking up these huge brick veneer homes that do not consider orientation to the sun and hope for the best. Air con usage is extortionate, so much so they were considering an extra charge on your energy bill if you live in one of these culprit areas! Crazy I know i vented a little - sorry - but it gets my goat sometimes. So when it comes to old australian homes, i think its important to keep our heritage on display as its very unique but also to make sure the homes we build in the future make the best of every opportunity and not take us backwards. Kitchens are like finger prints, no two are ever the same!! SmartPack did the kitchens for Channel 9's Home Made TV Show Re: Old style homes and energy efficiency 9Jan 12, 2009 9:43 am SmartPack We have a habit of not taking ourselves seriously enough and just pass over the solution to someone else. i.e. solar panels and its research went overseas thus costing us more to purchase back. It is true that there are number of useful Australian inventions. But there are probably a lot of reasons why we don't invest in R&D. Firstly, it is still a risky proposition. For every one success there are probably a dozen duds. Huge amounts of money are required for a startup. Our taxes probably couldn't support many projects. Philanthropists are few and far between. Most of the privately-run advanced tertiary industries are owned overseas. Even if we managed to develop a working prototype, the costs of labour would mean that manufacturing would need to go abroad if we are to remain cost-competitive. The USA is different. A lot of projects are funded by big business and universities receive large grants from the private sector. We just don't have the critical mass of people or finances to make this happen. Re: Old style homes and energy efficiency 10Jan 12, 2009 10:01 am SmartPack True the facade can be limiting but thats when clever design and natural lighting come into play. A typical example of our short sightedness, here we are knocking up these huge brick veneer homes that do not consider orientation to the sun and hope for the best. The reasons for this are multifactorial: http://forums.envirotalk.com.au/house-E ... entry26497 go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110592 10 years ago was a different software than we use now. it has had a lot of changes over the past years. Improvments to the software and changes to how Nathers models need… 8 1547 The Dulux colour consultants are awesome. If you show them the photos they should be able to figure it out for you straight away 1 1618 |