How To Improve Energy Efficiency While Designing A New Home

by: Bob Williamson

When designing a new home, you want to take advantage of the chance to make it as energy efficient as possible, thereby saving money and have a healthier, comfortable living space. For new home builders its an important factor to think about environmentally sustainable homes. Sydney homes needs to be well shaded so as to take advantage of the winter sun, and block it out in the summer, and this also includes the shading of glass.

Unprotected glass is the major reason for unwanted heat in the home in the summer months, where radiant heat becomes trapped within the confines of your living space. One of the most effective ways to provide shading is through the use of eaves which are designed to protect your house, including the windows, from the rays of the sun in the hot months, and to let in helpful sun during the cool months.

This can be achieved in passive heating climates by angling the eaves to allow some low angle winter sun to reach walls, floors and specially house windows. The way that you correctly align your eaves would rely mostly on the weather - in colder altitudes the width of the eaves must be reduced to 42 to 43 percent, and also increasing the distance between the window head to the eave. It might not be beneficial to alter the width of the ease with the help of hot summers in the lower latitudes.

There are very specific formulas that could be used based on latitude and climate to determine an optimum eaves width for energy efficiency. One way of calculating the needed width of the eaves on a ground level home is to multiply the distance from the eaves-line down to the bottom of the window by 0.7. Doing so should keep the glass adequately shaded in the hotter latitudes during the summer months.

Considering all the possibility for shading is an important consideration for new home builders. Sydney home builders usually use external sources and plants, blinds or even louvers, operable clerestory windows, glaze and tinted glass so as to adjust the way sun enters the home. You want your home to work for you, instead of against the climate. If it runs too cold or too hot, it could become expensive to keep your home tolerable.

If your home is well designed, however, and sustainable, it would both run better as well as save you money. Fixed shading devices such as eaves, if properly installed, not only save money, but save lots of time, energy, care and hassle, making your home a more comfortable, healthy and homely place to live.