Design Lessons

The house performs well in terms of its operational energy and CO2 gas emission compared to other (standard) houses in the State. The design has also considered the environmental impact carefully by (1) properly siting the house on the site to minimise damage to the site, capture the breeze for natural ventilation, and have optimum solar radiation, and (2) using recycled and low embodied energy materials as well as non-renewable energy sources as much as possible. The use of a lot of glass as well as metal cladding for the roof and walls does not make the embodied energy of the house construction significantly less than that of other typical houses (brick-veneer), unless the use of the recycled timber is considered. However lower maintenance costs (hence energy) due to the longevity of metal cladding and glass is quite relevant when considering their embodied energy.

According to the occupants the house also performs reasonably well in terms of its indoor comfort, even though from the monitoring the house seems to be warm during summer days due to lack of external shading. The house can also be cold in the winter without the slow combustion heater (according to the 'standard' thermal comfort range, although the occupants have a different comfort preference).

It is predicted that the house may perform 'better' in terms of its energy consumption and indoor comfort if:

-the north facing glass has more external shading in the summer.

-all glazing has some sort of insulation to reduce heat loss on winter nights (eg the shrink-wrap may help; however, the result of installing this has not been obtained at the time of the writing of this report),

-a wind break is grown on the south-east side of the house to divert cold winds away.

Interior of living room