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4.3 Orientation
Project homes
Select a design that allows living areas to face north on your site. Most project home companies will mirror or flip a design to suit your needs at no extra cost.
Check and adjust north eave overhangs for passive performance.
[See: Shading]
Turn north facing verandahs into pergolas by replacing roofing material such as tiles or metal with slats or louvres, particularly over window areas.
Shade east and west facing glass by adding shade structures. Relocating verandahs and deep covered balconies to the east or west can improve shading on those elevations.
[See: Shading]
Reducing the amount of south, east and especially west facing glazing, or relocating some to north facing walls often adds no cost but significantly improves performance.
Smaller windows on south, east and west facing walls can aid cross ventilation.
Designing a new house or renovating
There are things you can do to maximise what your site has to offer when you build or renovate.
If renovating, check the existing floor plan. Do the living areas face the right way to take advantage of winter sun and cooling summer breezes?
It's easy to change the orientation of a house when renovating: swap room uses from one side of the house to another. Doing this enables the house to work better without necessarily becoming bigger. This saves building costs and long term running and maintenance costs.
The diagrams to the left show how the layout of a house in a warm temperate climate was changed to let winter sun in and let summer breezes flow through.
Maximise the amount of daytime living space that faces north, whether designing a new house or configuring renovations.
Provide passive solar shading to east, west and north facing elevations, particularly glass areas. Correctly designed eaves are generally all that is required to shade the northern elevations of single storey houses.
[See: Shading]
Place a suitable amount of glazing in north facing walls with solar access. The glazing area should be between 10 to 25 percent of the floor area of the room, depending on climate and mass.
[See: Passive Solar Heating]
Glazing on other facades should ideally be less to prevent unwanted heat loss and gain. South facing glass facilitates winter heat loss, while east and particularly west facing glass encourages summer heat gain if not properly shaded. Smaller, well shaded windows are desirable for cross ventilation.
Avoid west facing bedrooms where possible. East facing bedrooms are acceptable as they capture morning sun but remain cool on summer evenings.
Locate utility areas such as laundries, bathrooms, garages and sheds to the south, west and east to protect living areas from summer sun and winter winds.
Maximise the distance between the house and any building development to the north. Avoid placing obstructions such as carports or sheds to the north.
Building on the south boundary (if permitted by your local council) can be useful to increase the amount of north facing outdoor space. Avoid compromising the solar access of neighbours by overshadowing.
Plant shade trees in the appropriate locations. Landscaping can also be used to block or filter harsh winds.
[See: Sustainable Landscape and Shading]
Prune vegetation that blocks winter sun.
Orientation for passive cooling
Good orientation for passive cooling excludes unwanted sun and hot winds and ensures access to cooling breezes. A degree of passive cooling is necessary for most Australian climates.
In hot humid climates and hot dry climates with warm winters, direct and reflected sunlight should be excluded at all times of the year. In all other climates a degree of controlled solar access is beneficial.
The site
Look for a site with good access to cooling breezes. Ensure that landscape and adjacent buildings do not block beneficial breezes.
[See: Choosing a Site]
Look for a suitably shaded site. Land with a south facing slope will provide increased shade.
South is a good direction for views, as south facing windows require no shading from direct sun, or minimal shading above the Tropic of Capricorn.
Solar access is beneficial for solar collectors, clothes drying and vegetable gardens in all climates.
On sites with poor orientation or no access to cooling breezes an energy efficient home is still possible with good design. Use high level windows and vents to create convection currents for cooling in the absence of breezes.
Landscape and building form can be designed to deflect and control the flow of breezes or to block unwanted sun.
[See: Passive Cooling; Shading; Sustainable Landscapes]
The house
Choose or design a house with maximum exposure to cooling breezes and limited or no exposure to direct sun (depending on climate). Use careful design to improve performance in the case of poorly oriented sites or existing homes.
[See: Passive Cooling]
Security and noise can be an issue in many locations. Use security screens over openings to allow effective ventilation without compromising safety. In high noise areas early evening is a good time to ventilate the house. By night time the house has cooled and openings can be closed for a better sleep.
Look for a house that has good orientation or can be easily adapted for better orientation.
Look for a house that is well shaded and facilitates the flow of cooling breezes through it.
[See: Passive Cooling]
Narrow, elongated buildings facilitate passive cooling. Ideally the long elevation should open up to cooling breezes.
Avoid large, exposed areas of west facing wall if possible as they receive the strongest radiation at the hottest part of the day.
Open plan internal layouts facilitate ventilation. Homes of one-room depth are ideal.
Windows should be openable and located on more than one side of a room to improve ventilation.
Outdoor living areas such as courtyards, verandahs and balconies should be suitably shaded.
Project home
Select a design that can be positioned on your site to capture cooling breezes, particularly to living areas. Avoid large areas of west facing windows.
Most project home companies will mirror or flip a design to suit your needs at no extra cost.
Moving windows or doors from one elevation to another to capture cooling breezes often adds no cost but makes significant improvements to performance.
Avoid windows with fixed glass. Ask for windows with a significant openable area for ventilation.
Ensure that all openings are suitably shaded. Use landscape as an effective means of providing additional shade.
[See: Shading]
Ask for eaves to be included if the design has omitted them.
Designing a new house or renovating
There are things you can do to maximise what your site has to offer when you build or renovate.
If renovating, check the existing floor plan. Is the house configured to capture cooling breezes and let them flow through? It's easy to change the orientation of a house and the location of door and window openings when renovating.
Doing this enables the house to work better without necessarily becoming bigger. This saves building costs and long term running and maintenance costs.
Provide an appropriate level of shade and locate openings in the direction of cooling breezes. Shade the entire building in hot humid climates and hot dry climates with warm winters.
[See: Passive Cooling]
Design narrow, elongated building forms for best performance, with the long elevations opening up to cooling breezes. Elevating the house so that air can circulate beneath it will also assist performance.
Use landscape and building form to deflect cooling breezes into the interior and to exclude undesirable hot winds. Make use of shade or windbreaks provided by adjacent buildings or existing landscape.
Design extensions to open to cooling breezes, particularly if they are living areas.
Avoid large areas of exposed west facing wall.
East and west facing openings receive the strongest sun and are the most difficult to shade. Keep their size to a minimum if this does not compromise cooling by ventilation. Alternatively, ensure they are well shaded.
Ensure adequate north eaves overhangs, plus south eaves overhangs above the Tropic of Capricorn.
[See: Shading]
Design open plan interiors to facilitate ventilation. Homes of one-room depth with openings either side are ideal.
Design and position openings to control air flow. Use clerestory windows, roof ventilators, and vents in ridges, eaves and ceilings to create convection currents to cool the house in the absence of breezes.
[See: Passive Cooling]
Install windows that can be opened for maximum ventilation. When renovating, replace fixed windows with systems like casement windows or louvres.
Add additional small windows to rooms with only one window to improve ventilation.
Use vents above or in internal doors to facilitate cross ventilation.
Ensure outdoor living areas are shaded. Covered balconies and verandahs can be useful additions, providing shaded outdoor living space. Use landscape to provide additional shade.
| ADDITIONAL KEY REFERENCES |
|---|
| BDP Environmental Design Guide, RAIA |
| Energy Efficient Housing Manual, Energy Victoria |
| AMCORD, Commonwealth Department of |
| Housing & Regional Development |
| Warm House, Cool House, Hollo, N |
| Sunshine & Shade in Australasia, Phillips, R.O |
| Site Planning in Australia, King, Rudder Prasad, Ballinger 1996 |
| Energy Efficient Australian Housing, Ballinger et al 1992 |
| Energy Efficient Building Design Resource Book, Brisbane Institute of TAFE |
Principal author:
Caitlin McGee
Contributing author:
Chris Reardon
Dick Clarke