The power of shade

Things to consider

When designing a house in an often hot and sunny environment like New Zealand we, unfortunately, can tend to go for the cookie cutter design with things like eaves and entertainment areas.

That’s why it’s important to engage an architect and builder that have experience in building bespoke houses, as we can see issues before they are set in stone (or timber as is likely the case). Particularly with a north facing house the brutal summer sun can cause temperatures inside a closed up house (particularly our well-insulated houses) into the 40’s if there are no countermeasures. 

Shading

A variety of shading techniques can help, from fixed or adjustable shades to trees and vegetation, depending on the building’s orientation as well as climate and latitude. 

Passive design

Whilst we naturally jump to windows and air conditioning in our minds as obvious countermeasures we can use far more passive applications than these. Something as simple as deeper eaves or louvres can cut temperatures down considerably in a house.

The concept is simple, if you can shade the windows in your house through the hottest part of the day then you will naturally have a cooler house. The trick though is to have shade areas deep enough to shade the windows in the summer, but shallow enough to let the sun in during winter when it is further north in the sky to passively warm your house.

Come and see us to discuss your passive heating and cooling needs, we are passionate about it!