"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Jen" wrote:

You've mentioned house de4sign before, how would a change of design help
in
an area where the weather is constantly changing. We have droughts and
floods and very hot weather and very cold weather all in the same month.
There was snow inVictoria this summer.

Have a look at Warm House, Cool House by Nick Hollo. Most permaculture
books
cover general principles as well.

First thing is that you design for CLIMATE, not WEATHER. That is, you
design
for what typically happens in your area, not for the rare times when it
snows
in summer (assuming that it is indeed rare where you live!). So in a
Mediterranean climate (cool wet winters, warm dry summers) you design
differently from say tropical (cool dry winters, hot wet summers). Sydney
is
in-between. Our wetter seasons are summer and winter. Summer tends to be
humid, and spring and autumn are dryish but have very comfortable temps.

Secondly, a house that is sensibly designed should cope with unusual
extremes
reasonably well anyway. If it doesn't, well, you save on your energy bill
the
rest of the year!

Traditional housing often gives clues as to sensible ways to build houses.
In
arid regions (hot in the day and down to freezing at night), you find the
use
of materials with high thermal mass, like stone and adobe. They absorb
heat
during the day but radiate it out (and in) in the evenings, so the house
is
warm at night and cool by day. Compare that with the airy, shady
structures
you find in tropical areas.

Lastly, there are a few commonalities across most of Australia. Most of
us
don't need late afternoon sun beating into the house in summer, so we need
to
minimise west-facing windows and shade them with awnings or trees. In
winter,
we like the sun coming in, so we need windows that face north. In summer,
however, we don't want that direct sun, so the windows should be shaded
with
wide eaves. As the sun is lower in winter, the eaves can (and should) be
designed so they don't shade winter sun. And most of us need roof and wall
insulation to keep heat in in winter and out in summer.

Just a few thoughts to kick around. Of course, if you are retrofitting a
house, the current house's good and bad points come into play. For
example,
my house has all its big windows facing south, which is nice during a
summer
southerly. It's a pretty cool house in winter, however, so we are about
to
add a family room on the north, which will have windows to pick up the
winter
sun and a concrete floor to store the heat in.

See what I mean?


Yeah. I do. I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever in the position to design,
or redesign my house. Thanks


Jen

snipped

Yeah. I do. I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever in the position to design,
or redesign my house. Thanks


Jen

have a read of our essay, so not only are you keeping in ind the
thought of building a truely comfy home, but even the next time you
buy you can use some of the processes to help you buy a modern home
that is that bit more comfy than its counterpart.

buy using the head not the heart.
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/