> The importance of building orientation

The importance of building orientation
Last updated 10:24 pm, Sunday 17th January 2021

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Ennis said:
I thought the south facing windows were supposed to be the largest?
ON Wed, 11 Aug 10, 10:52pm probably from United States Reply to this comment
- Eco Guy said:
  In the Northern hemisphere, yes; but in the Southern hemisphere its the North facing windows.
  ON Sun, 17 Apr 11, 1:17am probably from Australia Reply to this comment
Amanda said:
I am building a house on a block where my views are to the East and the access/front of house will be facing East. How can I make the most of the Solar passive effect as possible? I thought about building an L shaped house with large glass doors at the rear facing North. Would this get enough light in?
ON Thu, 8 Dec 11, 2:51pm probably from Australia Reply to this comment
- Eco Guy said:
  Hi Amanda,
  
  Do you have any access to the North at all, e.g. good Northern access to the Sun. You can be up to about 20% off true and still get good benefit.
  
  Also remember that regardless of orientation your roof space will still get warm - there are systems available that can capture roof space heat and inject them into the living area below - look up Ventis.
  ON Fri, 9 Dec 11, 11:07am probably from Australia Reply to this comment
Jordan said:
This might be the dumbest post I've ever seen on the internet.

You assume the goal of the home builder is to gain heat (ie during the winter) yet for the southern third (to a half) of the people reading they want to MINIMIZE heat gain. -- Your simply saying houses should be East-West is as moronic as saying no matter what ails you an antibiotic is the right prescription. [What if I have a broken arm?]

Really, if you are going to put so little thought into your writing, don't even bother cluttering the net with babble.

Just sayin'
ON Wed, 21 Dec 11, 4:13am probably from United States Reply to this comment
- Eco Guy said:
  Hi Jordan,
  
  I'm assuming, which I thought was reasonable at the time writing the article, that if you have no need to capture solar heat, you wouldn't enact what I have written.
  
  Also there is another article on here called "Keeping your home Cool in Summer or Warm in Winter for free!" which covers cooling techniques if your property has too much heat to deal with.
  ON Wed, 21 Dec 11, 8:00pm probably from Australia Reply to this comment
Rubi said:
what is the disadvantage to give the glass windows in south facing
ON Sat, 7 Jan 12, 6:41am probably from India Reply to this comment
Arvind said:
Hi, I am from India, which is the best direction for a Poultry and Dairy farm, I live near Mumbai (formaly known as Bombay) Thanks

Arvind
ON Mon, 16 Jan 12, 11:10am probably from India Reply to this comment
Anu said:
i am designing a boys hostel in haryana karnal district what should be the orientation of my buildimg
ON Tue, 31 Jan 12, 11:06am probably from Australia Reply to this comment
Rahul said:
what is your comments about south facing house as per buildig planning and orientation of building as per the sun digram.
ON Tue, 6 Mar 12, 12:18pm probably from India Reply to this comment
- Eco Guy said:
  Basically you need to orientation the building so that the rooms you use the most are those that face the Sun the most. Northern hemisphere this will be the South side, Southern hemisphere the North side.
  ON Sun, 11 Mar 12, 10:47am probably from United States Reply to this comment
Bron said:
The sun path diagram is not correct. In the southern hemisphere in Winter the sun rises to the north of East, and sets to the north of West. In Summer it rises a fair way south of East, and sets to the south of West.
ON Tue, 15 Jan 13, 3:46am probably from Australia Reply to this comment
- Eco Guy said:
  Hi Bron,
  
  I assumed people will adjust their comprehension of the diagram if they are in the Southern hemisphere.
  ON Tue, 15 Jan 13, 5:39am probably from Australia Reply to this comment
Saif said:
What I understood is that this article is focused on heating based design for freezing countries (Am I right?) For Indian climate, temperature in winter on average is 20°C and in summer it is around 40°C with high humidity. We require cooling on most of the months and no cooling is required (with exception of few places). So can you please give link to any design articles for such scenario?
ON Sun, 18 May 14, 11:04am probably from Qatar Reply to this comment
Saif said:
Please read as "no heating is required instead of no cooling is required"
ON Wed, 21 May 14, 5:39pm probably from Qatar Reply to this comment
Raj said:
I am planning to construct a house in Vellore,India which is famous for dry summer with high heat and the house has west facing for the main entrance and south side has a building and north and east side are open as of now. Can you advise which side of the wall should have more windows so that the house is comfortable for living during extreme summer. I am little worried about the internal heating during summer in Vellore
ON Thu, 11 Aug 16, 12:28am probably from United States Reply to this comment
Hannah & Kate said:
Hi, were doing a school project on energy efficiency for a north facing house in the Southern Hemisphere (Seaford Rise, SA) we’re stuck and are not sure on where to place our windows,which materials to use, keeping the house cool in summer and warm in winter.
ON Thu, 22 Mar 18, 1:49am probably from Australia Reply to this comment
Mike said:
I'm thinking about building a earth ship, minus the tires and earth, in Iowa and know it has to face south, but also slightly east I believe? I'm envisioning a two story wall of glass facing the winter sun. Your calculator is suggesting a almost 3 meter overhang? All other sides will be close to passive house standards with a grass roof to set a gazebo on, and bermed earth sides mainly for storm resistance. Use twin-wall polycarbonate panels on the majority of The wall, and glass where you want the view. And this property has the view too.. Thanks
ON Sat, 24 Jun 23, 5:53pm probably from United States Reply to this comment

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