What are Energy-Efficient Home Design Strategies, and how do They Work?
The environmental conditions are making it mandatory for homeowners and players in the construction sector to become more conscious of the energy consumption of their buildings and strive towards sustainable living. Due to the rapid climatic changes, green buildings built using energy-efficient strategies are becoming a need of the hour. Though they seem complicated at first glance, these techniques are extremely easy to implement.
If you are searching for passive energy-efficient home design ideas for your house, consider simple techniques like openable doors and windows, the choice of building materials, or the orientation of the structure.
Most beginners might be confused about how to choose the best strategy for their building. As a thumb rule, home energy-efficient design techniques are based on climatic zones. Most of these methods seek inspiration from age-old traditional architectural approaches from various regions. If you stay in Himachal Pradesh, you will need a heating technique, while people in Kerala require a completely different set of cooling methods. This article will walk you through all the essential information about energy-efficient home design strategies necessary for different climates.
Why do we need Best Energy-Efficient Home Designs for Modern Building Construction?
Most energy-efficient home designs and structures are not just eco-friendly options for construction. They may also provide a lifetime of thermal comfort. One may achieve this without paying high electric bills. You may also use mechanical infrastructure to keep your interior space comfortable, but that comes with its own consequences. The overuse of fossil fuels is one of the primary reasons for global warming. Apart from that, most mechanical strategies are costly and require regular maintenance.
Energy-Efficient Home Design Strategies Based on Different Climatic Needs
It is essential to design a structure to suit the needs of their respective climatic zones. The main aim of energy-efficient home design plans is to use the best natural resources available around you to optimize the internal environment of your house. Read further to know about the passive cooling and heating techniques you can use to keep your house warm in cold climates and cool in hot regions.
- Energy-Efficient Cooling Strategies
1. Evaporative Cooling Method
2. Traditional Wind Catchers
3. Roof Ponds
4. Earth Shelter
5. Efficient Planning To Improve Cross Ventilation
- Energy-Efficient Heating Strategies
1. Building Orientation To Increase Direct Solar Gain
2. Thermal Mass Used As Insulation
3. Trombe Wall
4. Sunspace
Let’s have a detailed look:
Energy-Efficient Cooling Strategies
Home energy-efficient design strategies that enhance air circulation and control heat gain and dissipation to cool down your interior space are energy-efficient cooling techniques. Let us learn about some methods you can use in your house if you live in a hot region.
01. Evaporative Cooling Method
In layman’s terms, evaporative cooling is the sensation felt while getting out of a pool or experiencing the cool air sweeping across a lakeside. A mechanical fan drives warm external air through wet cooling pads in an evaporative cooling system. A water pump supplies water to the cooling system and hydrates the cooling pads. The cold air then circulates inside the building. Further, you may improve the airflow inside by creating courtyards and openings.
02. Traditional Wind Catchers
This passive air conditioning strategy is helpful if you live in a hot and dry region like Rajasthan. Wind catchers take inspiration from traditional architecture. These are extremely popular in hot and dry places like deserts because they help combat the extreme heat. In their most basic design, wind catchers may also fit into basement storage.
03. Roof Ponds
In summer, your roof gains a lot of direct solar heat. Why not use your roof for your benefit instead? Roof ponds are one of the passive cooling techniques that would help you optimize solar heat gain, especially at night. It is critical to protect the pond from the sun’s radiation on sunny days by reflecting the heat away from it. You may cover the pond with a reflective cover. Spraying on the outer cover can improve the system’s functioning by allowing it to cool down. During the night, the pond cools the spaces beneath the roof by releasing heat in the form of long-wave radiation into the atmosphere.
04. Earth Shelter
This may be a quirky yet efficient cooling technique. If you want to use the natural cooling effect of the earth as well as achieve a contemporary aesthetic, you should opt for earth shelter. This technique is especially suitable for sites with undulating slopes and low humidity. The soil’s thermal capacity is a significant component of a building’s thermal management system in earth-sheltered architecture. Most modern earth shelter designs are made of concrete with a large thermal storage capacity. They absorb the excess heat from the soil around them, keeping them cool during the day.
05. Efficient Planning to Improve Cross Ventilation
All the techniques mentioned above require some sort of mechanical expertise. But what if you designed your building in such a way that it kept your interiors cool? Architects should incorporate a passive cooling design strategy while planning their buildings to make them zero-energy home designs. They must focus on the building’s orientation to minimize solar gain and maximize wind access. Openable windows are preferable to fixed ones in tropical regions. Also, most of these openings must align with the wind’s path for better cross-ventilation. A thorough understanding of site conditions, wind analysis, and solar path should be there.
Energy-Efficient Heating Strategies
If you live in a cold region, using the sun’s energy should be your priority. Other aspects like building materials, insulation, and types of openings also contribute to energy-efficient heating strategies for cold regions.
01. Building Orientation to Increase Direct Solar Gain
Let us start with the simplest passive heating technique. The sun moves from east to west via the south in the Northern Hemisphere and via the north in the Southern Hemisphere. While planning your building, the longer side of the structure should be along the north-south axis. This will maximize the heat gain for your building and keep your interiors warm.
Know more about the importance of building orientation-
02. Thermal Mass Used as Insulation
In layman’s terms, thermal refers to the ability of a material to absorb and store heat, for example, stone-masonry. This property could be a boon for construction in cold regions. In cold regions, thermal insulation is the key to keeping the spaces heated passively. A well-insulated building can significantly reduce the heat lost during temperature changes day and night. Direct solar gain and the walls’ thermal mass help capture the heat. To block the heat from escaping, you must insulate the building by using double glazing or materials like a straw bale.
03. Trombe Wall
This design strategy uses the heat-absorbing capacity of the colour. Typically, a Trombe wall uses a combination of black masonry walls and glazing. The black wall and glazing system face the sun’s direction and absorb heat throughout the day. This heat gets released at night when the temperature drops. This passive heating design technique is suitable for regions that have distinctive daytime and nighttime temperatures.
04. Sunspace
Sunspace follows a simple design where an entire room facing the direction of the sun is enveloped in materials like glass and is usually projected outside the building mass. The sunspace warms up during the day and heats the main building. This system works even better with a Trombe wall attached.
Conclusion
Before moving on to more complex building technologies, the modern construction industry must use energy-efficient home design principles to boost a building’s energy efficiency. Not only do these curb carbon emissions, but they are also an affordable choice for most households. However, you must have a thorough understanding of the climatic factors and site context before proceeding with such designs. It is best to use a combination of mechanical and passive cooling and heating techniques to achieve the optimum level of sustainability.
Before you leave the page, know the prime factors that you need to consider during site analysis:
14 Major Factors to Be Considered While Site Analysis/ Study!
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Author Bio
Srishti Dasgupta – Srishti Dasgupta is an architect and writer. Her passion for art initiated her interest in Architecture. The creative field also inspired her to explore various aspects of art and culture. She intends to keep capturing the rationalities of everyday world, integrated with the creative world through different mediums.
