Passive house design is critical whether you’re choosing to build to Passive House certification or you want to improve the thermal comfort of your existing home. Each project is unique and there is no simple solution when it comes to designing the perfect home. Each home has its own set of needs based on the location and the orientation of the land.
With that in mind, what do you need to consider?
The Right Designer
Often the simplest things are overlooked during the design phase of a new build or a renovation. With that in mind, market research is critical when choosing the right designer. Look for a designer, builder, or architect that has industry knowledge in sustainability.
What to Discuss during the Design Stage:
- What impact will this build have on the environment? How can this be reduced?
- Orientation of the land, utilising existing vegetation to provide shade during the hotter months.
- Proposed material schedule, implement recycled and sustainable materials were possible.
- Selecting renewable materials that don’t require a large amount of energy to produce.
- The overall building envelope (airtightness) eliminating any thermal bridges by using appropriate materials & proven design methods.
- Position of windows and doors, the health and comfort of the internal setting in the home.
- Avoid focussing on expensive and changeable design pieces like benchtops and instead on items that improve the performance of your home such as energy-efficient windows.
Energy Efficiency
An energy-efficient home means adopting passive solar design principles and designing to the orientation of the land as well as the position of natural light. There isn’t a simple cut and paste formula, certain considerations will need to be considered by a designer or architect for instance:
Designing with the orientation of the land in mind can eliminate up to 50% of your energy requirements.
- When in the design phase ensure the more frequently used spaces such as kitchen, dining/living areas all face the northern elevation to promote solar heat gains in winter.
- Other less used rooms such as the laundry room, powder rooms and garage can be built facing west to prevent unwanted summer heat gains.
- Appropriate positioning of overhanging eves eliminates summer sun while allowing winter sun to enter which results in heat gains through thermal mass in winter.
- Natural cross airflow keeps your house cool and full of fresh air.
- Other strong contributing factors that promote energy-efficient homes include high R rating insulation and glazing as well as airtight membranes.
Net Zero
What do you mean by Net Zero? Simply put, net zero refers to the balance of the amount of greenhouse gases produced compared to the amount removed from the atmosphere. A zero-energy home is a home built to generate as much clean energy as it consumes. How can this be achieved? By following simple design principles starting from the ground up:
- Continuous uninterrupted insulation around the building envelope.
- High-performance weather-resistant membranes and tapes, ensuring penetration in the building envelope is sealed preventing any air leakages.
- Switching to Energy Star appliances, which are independently certified appliances that deliver energy efficiency and long-term savings.
- Electrical HRV (Heat, Recovery, Ventilation) systems will drastically lower your heating and cooling loads.
- Heating or cooling specific rooms using zoned living reduces energy use.
- Double or triple glazed windows prevent drafts and reduce heat loss.
- Choosing optimal window and door frames such as uPVC windows which have non-conductive frames keeping heat in and the cold out or thermally broken aluminium which have a reinforced polyamide bar between the aluminium frame creating an insulated barrier.
- Solar power and hot water systems use free energy from the sun rather than non-renewable energy resources.
- Rainwater collection and low flow showerheads assist in water conservation.
- Minimising waste during construction – designing with material dimensions in mind, re-using existing materials, or using recycled materials where possible.