The main cooling control of your house is its design. A well designed house takes into consideration the house’s orientation to make the most of prevailing wind directions and encourage favorable summer breezes.
Window sizes and placement also affect summer cooling. If the windows are located and sized well you can open them during hot summer afternoons and create a cooling breeze flowing through your whole house.
Your house’s orientation and shading features such as window overhangs and louvers effect how much sunlight is captured; a well orientated house will take advantage of the sun at different times of the day and during different seasons. Ensure that windows are big enough to capture free solar energy, but small enough to avoid any unnecessary over-heating in summer. Smaller windows will also reduce excessive heat losses during evenings, especially during the cooler months.
Room location is also important. By positioning the rooms which the family live in on the side of the house that naturally makes the best use of the summer sun, you will improve the amount of free solar heat your house naturally receives. Make sure that your deck also receives sun during the times you want it. Most people love to spend a few hours on the deck at the end of the day. A deck built to capture the evening sun and which is shielded from the wind can be used almost as another ‘room’, perfect for summer parties!
The thermal mass of your home is a key passive design component working like a sponge to suck up surplus heat during the daytime and releasing it later in the evening. Simple measures, such as replacing carpet with ceramic tiles will soak up the summer sun to maintain a steady cool temperature during the day and in the evening. But keep in mind: Thermal mass does not replace good insulation. Both go hand in hand and work best in combination.
If you don’t have a lot of thermal mass available, for example in a home with suspended timber floors, overheating can be a problem. External shades and sun sails can be fitted to complement the orientation of your house and assist with cooling. Tinted windows positioned correctly can also reduce the amount of solar heat entering the home.
Lastly there are also many cooling products available, namely air-conditioning units and fans. Commonly known as active cooling systems these offer a consistent room temperature, while at the same time, deodorise and clean the air, resulting in a healthier living environment for all the family. To maximize energy efficiency and ensure optimum home comfort we at Right House recommend that air conditioning units and fans are used as ‘extras’ supporting your home’s in-built passive design cooling features.
And remember, good insulation does not only keep the heat in during the winter, it also keeps unwanted heat out in the summer, reducing your air conditioning bill.
Albrecht Stoecklein is the Technical Marketing Executive for Right House, the only New Zealand company that provides independent advice, supplies an extensive range of products and installs everything for an energy-efficient home. For more information, visit www.righthouse.co.nz