Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Aug 22, 2014 12:12 pm Hi all, I am seeking some advice on my current house plan that i have in place. I am worried about solar passive cooling for my block. my block is north facing at the front 12.5 wide, 375 sqm. this is in jandakot-southern suburb of perth Here is the 1st plan i have with the directions marked up... I have another plan which goes like this with the living on east and bedrooms on west. Here it is 2nd plan: With respect to sustainable living, solar passive cooling, I understand both plans are not quite good but because of my block orientation and restricted budget, can I please get some feedback on which plan should i go with and what are the necessary things i should be doing to make sure the west side bedrooms or living whichever does not become so much hot. Considerations for window size ? will the alfresco on west be a problem- i heard we can south westerly wind there in evening. Thank you and look forward to getting some suggestions regarding this. Re: Help needed-north facing block 2Aug 22, 2014 12:14 pm This is another version we have come up with. Please let me know if this is fine wrt solar passive cooling. We have tried to make the western walls as less exposed as possible-keeping the living/dining in the centre and bedrooms at the east. Thank you in advance. Regards, Sandi Re: Help needed-north facing block 3Aug 22, 2014 1:34 pm I'd think of flipping - the garage is a spot that can face west - often no windows. I'd tend to have outdoor areas facing E/N. You'd get nice morning sun into the alfresco. But - also look at sliding the modules about - ie bedrooms to east side. Re: Help needed-north facing block 4Aug 22, 2014 2:13 pm Neither plan, for passive solar heating .But for passive cooling, I like the bottom plan. As it has the bathrooms & alfresco blocking the western sun. For passive cooling you need windows on the opposite sides of the house, so you can get cross-ventilation, this plan has this. Draw some lines from the SW, breeze in through the meals area, out through the family, audio visual, & entry. Breeze in through the main bath & bed 3 & 4, out through bed 2 & family. Breeze in through ensuite, out through master. Also, for active cooling, ceiling fans will be much cheaper to run than AC. Also fans can be used in conjunction with passive cross-ventilation, while for AC the house must be shut up, so no cross ventilation. Not sure about Perth's summer climate, & whether AC is a requirement. Would be nice if you can get by with fans & cross-ventilation, & not require the added cost of AC. Only main shading issue would be the window in the meals area. Will need shading from an awning, a tree, or maybe tinting. For winter heating it's good to be able to zone your living areas, so you don't have to heat the whole house. It's good the minor bedrooms can be shut off from the living areas. It might be nice if there was another door around the laundry/audio visual, to separate the living from the front end of the house in winter. It seems like a pretty long hallway from the entrance to the living areas. Not much you can do about this, if you don't want some of your living areas at the front. I'd try to have as much glass as possible at the entrance (if it doesn't effect security), as it will light up the hallway. A louver window above the front door (if you can't fit one beside the door) may help with cross ventilation. As Saint Mike says, nice to have the garage on the W side, but from memory I don't think you could have this for some reason? Re: Help needed-north facing block 5Aug 22, 2014 2:30 pm Saint Mike I'd think of flipping - the garage is a spot that can face west - often no windows. I'd tend to have outdoor areas facing E/N. You'd get nice morning sun into the alfresco. But - also look at sliding the modules about - ie bedrooms to east side. Hi Saint Mike, Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately garage location is fixed for my block. SO has to be there. I hope the entry to the minor bedrooms looks ok from the living and may be it will be a bit dark on that corridor. Thanks Re: Help needed-north facing block 6Aug 22, 2014 2:36 pm ddarroch Neither plan, for passive solar heating .But for passive cooling, I like the bottom plan. As it has the bathrooms & alfresco blocking the western sun. For passive cooling you need windows on the opposite sides of the house, so you can get cross-ventilation, this plan has this. Draw some lines from the SW, breeze in through the meals area, out through the family, audio visual, & entry. Breeze in through the main bath & bed 3 & 4, out through bed 2 & family. Breeze in through ensuite, out through master. Also, for active cooling, ceiling fans will be much cheaper to run than AC. Also fans can be used in conjunction with passive cross-ventilation, while for AC the house must be shut up, so no cross ventilation. Not sure about Perth's summer climate, & whether AC is a requirement. Would be nice if you can get by with fans & cross-ventilation, & not require the added cost of AC. Only main shading issue would be the window in the meals area. Will need shading from an awning, a tree, or maybe tinting. For winter heating it's good to be able to zone your living areas, so you don't have to heat the whole house. It's good the minor bedrooms can be shut off from the living areas. It might be nice if there was another door around the laundry/audio visual, to separate the living from the front end of the house in winter. It seems like a pretty long hallway from the entrance to the living areas. Not much you can do about this, if you don't want some of your living areas at the front. I'd try to have as much glass as possible at the entrance (if it doesn't effect security), as it will light up the hallway. A louver window above the front door (if you can't fit one beside the door) may help with cross ventilation. As Saint Mike says, nice to have the garage on the W side, but from memory I don't think you could have this for some reason? Hi ddaroch, Thanks for the kind suggestion. Glad you liked the 2nd plan which I also think is ok compared to other plan I had but still considering the block orientation is ok. I will lose a bit of activity area changing from 1st plan to 2nd but as long as the rooms and living are properly orientated I dont mind. Another thing " Draw some lines from the SW, breeze in through the meals area, out through the family, audio visual, & entry. Breeze in through the main bath & bed 3 & 4, out through bed 2 & family. Breeze in through ensuite, out through master." What does that mean ? I Sorry for sounding like that but just wanted to know what you are implying. The breeze ? Is it ok the plan I have with respect to that. I was thinking of putting a door at AV room. Also what do you think about the entry for the bed 2, 3 and 4 from the living. DOes that look normal ? I am just worried may be bed 4 will be hot as facing west . Also may be the corridor might be dark . What do you think.! Thanks and sorry for asking so much here. Been very informative ! Re: Help needed-north facing block 7Aug 22, 2014 4:28 pm Re. Breezes. You said you get SW evening breezes. So what I'm saying is these breezes will flow from the SW (top right hand corner of your plan), towards the NE (bottom left hand corner of the plan). So when you have doors & windows open, the breeze will flow through your house from the top right towards the bottom left. Bed 4 is a bit of a problem, but I don't think it will be too bad. The alfresco will shade it for much of the afternoon. Note, that around the summer solstice (21st December) the sun sets in the SW. So the window in bed 4 may not be shaded late in the day at this time of year. Shouldn't be too bad though, especially as the sun won't be perpendicular to the window at this time (it will be more from the S). To aid cross ventilation in bed 4, it may be better to move the door to the bottom left corner (NE) of the room. Then the robe would also be moved between bed 4 & the living area, which may help insulate sound from the living area. I think the the hallway for the minor bedrooms will be ok. Don't think it needs to be too light, as not a lot of time would be spent there, although of course it would be nice to be lighter. Try to make sure the entrance hallway is as light as possible. Note, I'm no expert, so I'd be running all this past professionals. Re: Help needed-north facing block 8Aug 22, 2014 8:15 pm ddarroch Re. Breezes. You said you get SW evening breezes. So what I'm saying is these breezes will flow from the SW (top right hand corner of your plan), towards the NE (bottom left hand corner of the plan). So when you have doors & windows open, the breeze will flow through your house from the top right towards the bottom left. Bed 4 is a bit of a problem, but I don't think it will be too bad. The alfresco will shade it for much of the afternoon. Note, that around the summer solstice (21st December) the sun sets in the SW. So the window in bed 4 may not be shaded late in the day at this time of year. Shouldn't be too bad though, especially as the sun won't be perpendicular to the window at this time (it will be more from the S). To aid cross ventilation in bed 4, it may be better to move the door to the bottom left corner (NE) of the room. Then the robe would also be moved between bed 4 & the living area, which may help insulate sound from the living area. I think the the hallway for the minor bedrooms will be ok. Don't think it needs to be too light, as not a lot of time would be spent there, although of course it would be nice to be lighter. Try to make sure the entrance hallway is as light as possible. Note, I'm no expert, so I'd be running all this past professionals. Thanks a lot ddarroch If I moved the door of Bed 4 to the NE, doesn't it collide to the entry door- i thought it will look a bit odd putting the door over there. No! On the entrance hallway, I am planning to have a big door around 1200mm with a window on top so that it provides a bit of light. Will you be able to comment on the size of the Master bedroom and AV ? My gut feeling is the master bedroom is of ok size but may be I should not put in the two WIR's and put in a single WIR so that I have some space to put two basins in the ensuite as compared to one ? The walls are not straight, they are all over the place zigzag. Is this normal ? First time building so no idea- Thanks again. Re: Help needed-north facing block 9Aug 22, 2014 11:16 pm Yeah, I was actually thinking the bedroom door near the hallway door may be a bit odd too. As it's a private area I don't think it would be too bad. Could extend the IT nook a bit, so the doors won't collide, that bedroom is 3.8 long, so you could loose a bit. Not sure if it's an advantage to have that door in the NE for cross ventilation or not. Really need to speak to an expert, gets a bit complicated with high pressure air where the winds coming from, & low pressure areas on the other side of the house. I think an average double bedroom is around 3.3 x 3.3m, so the master's definitely not large. But I think it should be ok, as you've got your WIR's. I think the WIR's are ok, but again, I'm no expert. No door on the ensuite? I see there's one on the toilet, but not the ensuite. Could have a cavity slider there if you wanted one I guess. Not sure about the AV, seems quite small. Guess it depends on what size TV you have. Don't want to sit too close to a large screen. Check on the Home Theatre & Automation forum. They'll be able to tell you the optimum viewing distance for different sized screens. The warning is on the sticker on the door too. Second the aluminium powdercoat 6 18198 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 19987 Hi i am looking to buy an investment near by North Rothbury. How is this area? is there schools inside this estate? please advice good builders around that area to buy… 0 3021 |