Passive Solar housing
- Thread starter John U
- Start date
Rider_of_Bikes
Likes Dirt
Very cool. Im just around the corner on Service
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Calvin27
Eats Squid
Because most people are struggling to buy a house in the first instance let alone having the luxury to choose a decent passive design one.
Freediver
I can go full Karen
I'm in the middle of an extension on what was originally a 1920's weatherboard. Getting double glazing probably added just under 3 grand to the cost of the windows. that's with argon gas and thermally broken. I spent a about $1500 on insulating the ceiling, walls and floor. I haven't got them yet but will be putting in 100mm concrete bench tops which will cost less than 25mm stone but have more mass. Stacking old bricks in the new cavity walls cost nothing but has added even more mass.
The total extra cost for reducing my heating bill by about 90% even though I'm now heating three times the space would be less than 5 k.
Freediver
I can go full Karen
Yeah but the savings could by me an old orange every year for the rest of my life. Not that anybody in their right mind would.
Calvin27
Eats Squid
That's great but not sure why you quoted me if all you wanted to do was gloat about your argon filled double glazing. My point was that you can basically build rubbish because the housing situation is desperate for most people.
John U
MTB Precision
This is true, and fucked.
It still shouldn’t stop whoever is building houses orienting them with windows and living areas on the North side of the house and minimal east and west facing windows. I’ve seen a lot of examples of the exact opposite which is why I started the poll.
Calvin27
Eats Squid
It does when you are queuing for a stage release out in whoop whoop and after buying the land you don'e have much more pennies t build and so you go for the cheapest thing that will fit on the block. Orienting homes in the right direction was a luxury that no longer exists in the quarter-quarter acre block - thats if you got land at all!
Flow-Rider
Burner
Builders and developers couldn't care less as long as some fool is willing to pay for their end product. They do what ever they can to maximise profits on existing land. In my area they first allowed 1 to 2 level dwellings after removing farms but now it's up to 4, so you can imagine what sort of shit that ends up being built.
John U
MTB Precision
Some blocks naturally suit the correct orientation though, and people still build virtually no windows on the north and living areas on the south, when they could’ve done it correctly and easily for the same cost, just a bit more thought required. If councils get final approval then they should be driving correct orientation/house design.
Here you have to have the certifier sign off that the design for eco stars. Too long ago to remembervthe number but we were two more than required. I can only guess it has gotten tighter.
Calvin27
Eats Squid
It has been about 6 stars for a while. The problem is not so much the stars 6 is good already, but that the build quality is not on par with the rating. The Rating only ever gets done at design phase and no one checks when it is built. If you ever get a thermal imaging camera through a typical house, you will see all sorts of thing that are not built to the 6 star design. Then there are other things like building sealing that are also big issues.
rowdyflat
chez le médecin
Totally agree= hardly any more cost to maximize efficiency but it does take brain power where the situation isnt ideal for orientation , small block of land w wrong shading , etc
Unfortunately detailing is not good even on expensive houses.
Was at friends v expensive house ,huge double glazed windows but has aluminium frames w no thermal break so heat thru the frame.
Unfortunately detailing is not good even on expensive houses.
Was at friends v expensive house ,huge double glazed windows but has aluminium frames w no thermal break so heat thru the frame.
Has anyone seen a decent guide to building passive solar (and other energy efficient traits such as insulation and design in general) homes?
My sister in hobart has a double brick house that gets 3 or so hours of sun in winter. Her partners house is single brick with roof but no walls insulation.
They're looking to build a house together, I'd like to point them in the direction of some not so heavy reading on the topic
My sister in hobart has a double brick house that gets 3 or so hours of sun in winter. Her partners house is single brick with roof but no walls insulation.
They're looking to build a house together, I'd like to point them in the direction of some not so heavy reading on the topic
fatboyonabike
Captain oblivious
get in contact with AIRAH, they are full of info.
if you have slow combustion or rev A/C, look into options in doing a room share system (recirculating air from one area to another via ceiling mounted ductwork and vents).
if you want, PM me..i can give you a few ideas
rowdyflat
chez le médecin
Relatively simple to design a house for Hobart as heat is not such a problem therefore thermal mass and summer ventilation doesnt have to be as extensive as inland Australia.
Getting the balance between summer and winter is the tricky bit, in Yackandandah heat in summer is a bigger problem for me.
Hobart needs a small compact house , large double glazed north facing windows , lots of insulation and draft stoppers and a good cheap heat source as 3hrs sunlight wont really heat a house.
Getting the balance between summer and winter is the tricky bit, in Yackandandah heat in summer is a bigger problem for me.
Hobart needs a small compact house , large double glazed north facing windows , lots of insulation and draft stoppers and a good cheap heat source as 3hrs sunlight wont really heat a house.
Freediver
I can go full Karen
Sorry mate but you don't quite get passive solar. How is a home supposed to maintain heat when the sun goes down without thermal mass?
Even the shortest day in Hobart is a lot longer than 3 hours. My place in Melbourne still has more work to be done but at 10:30 in the morning it's 11 outside, 18 inside with no heating and completely overcast. The sun has only been up for 3 hours and it dropped down to about 7 last night. I did have the coffee machine on and the dishwasher which give of a bit of heat but not much.