Passive solar house

Architecture design IV
Passive Heating And Cooling In Buildings
Case Study

Your Logo or Name Here
ASANTE BEACH
HOUSE
Situated on a beautiful headland with 180° views
of the ocean, this house achieve the best of the
views and solar gain.
3
• In this passive solar building design, windows, walls,
and floors are made to collect, store, and distribute
solar energy in the form of heat in the winter, and to
reject solar heat in the summer.
• It’s temperature is between 18 and 25C every hour of
the year, regardless of the season.
• The typical minimum overnight temperature inside the
home is about 20C with no heating except the day’s
sunshine.
• It achieved a 9.2-star energy rating from Hobart-based
independent building and energy consultancy Building
eValuate, using the Nationwide House Energy Rating
Scheme.
• The 172sq m home has a fireplace which is purely for
ambience.
• Triple glazed with Unilux Doors and Windows, and air-
tight with heat recovery ventilation.

Sun Orientation
Passive solar strategies applied all over the
house. The house is packed so that there will be
no air leakage and provides high performance
with low energy consumption.
9
• Unlike active solar heating systems, it doesn’t involve
any mechanical or electrical devices.
• This building is oriented towards north and east.
• Excess solar energy is stored in thermal mass during
winter days.
• These heat banks then slowly release their heat during
the night, resulting in even temperatures across day
and night and across the seasons.
• The key to designing a passive solar building is taking
advantage of the local climate.
• Careful consideration needs to be given to the
orientation of the building to the sun, window
placement and glazing type, thermal insulation,
thermal mass, shading, ventilation and latitude-
specific roof overhangs.

Thermal insulation and Thermal mass
Thermal insulation
• Thermal insulation is the process of reduction of heat
transfer between objects in thermal contact or in range
of radiative influence.
10
• Thermal mass is the ability of a material to absorb and
store heat energy.
Thermal mass

Prefabricated Elements
Tony and Margaret’s home has scooped several awards
including: Winner Master Builders Tasmania 2014 Awards for
Excellence: Energy Efficiency (Residential), Finalist Master
Builders Tasmania 2014 Awards for Excellence: Dwelling
Construction over $750,000, and Finalist Master Builders
National Excellence Awards 2014: National Environment &
Energy Efficiency (Residential)
11
• Split over two levels with a double height void the
house is planned to meet the clients Feng Shui
requirements.
• The building was entirely prefabricated offsite other
than the ground floor slab which is insulated with
Glass-foam, an eco-friendly super durable insulation
material.
• The pre-insulated and clad components were
assembled on site by a crane.
• The walls and ceilings are insulated with recycled
newspaper/cellulose insulation pumped into a lined
cavity under pressure using German technology.
• The entire house was pressure tested upon
completion using a blower door testing unit and
achieved a 0.8 air changes per hour rating making it
one of the most air tight houses in Tasmania.

Your Logo or Name Here 13
First external wall frame being assembled with Bags of insulation
behind.
Last external wall panel filled
with insulation
It’s a fast, clean, super-efficient
process. Filled with insulation,
with cut-outs for doors, windows
and cat doors, along with notches
to accommodate pipes and
electrical cables, the whole outer
case of the house is now propped
up against the factory walls
6 of the 27 external wall panels
The columns, parapets, internal
walls and huge roof boxes are next.
And when the special cooked-
timber cladding arrives from
Finland, it was affixed to the
external wall panels, making the
entire house ready to erect on site.
Machines that are putting insulators in walls and ceiling

View from the road.
North-facing
windows optimise
the sun warming
the concrete slab in
winter. Triple-
glazing minimizes
heat loss. Gabion
garden wall (wire
cages filled with
stone) absorb heat
from the sun too,
encouraging plant
growth. Precise
eaves block the
summer sun.

Behind the
north-facing
windows:
concrete floor
acts as heat-
bank, as does
concrete
chimney. In
mid-winter, the
sun shines right
through the
house and out
the south side!
deep roof
boxes providing
exceptional
insulation

Asante is a
solar passive
timber house
conservativel
y rated at 9.2
stars. The
maximum
rating in
Australia is
10 stars.
Some of
Asante’s
energy saving
features, like
insulating the
sides and
underneath
of the
concrete
slab, are not
even
measured in
the current
rating
system.

The Passive Elements
Window glass
Triple-glazed windows
imported from Germany
Floor Slab
floor slab which is
insulated with Glass-foam
Walls And
Ceiling
The walls and ceilings are
insulated with recycled
newspaper/cellulose
insulation
Non Toxic interior
Non toxic glue is used to
protect the house
Pressure Test
The entire house was
pressure tested upon
completion using a blower
door testing unit
17

First certified passive
house inAsia is by JPDA
Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture (JPDA) has
completed the first Certified Passive House
project in South Asia, proving that ultra-high-
performance efficiency standards are achievable
for buildings in any climate. 19
• The Star Innovation Center is a product development
facility located near Colombo, Sri Lanka.
• Intended to be a global model for the entire garment
industry, the project sets a new high bar for
sustainability, energy efficiency and worker comfort.
• The project is one of only two certified Passive House
factory buildings in the world, and annual energy
consumption will be cut by over 75% compared to a
conventionally “efficient” modern industrial building.
• By renovate an obsolete building to Passive House
standards, the project dramatically reduces the waste,
carbon emissions and fossil fuels typically required for
demolition and new construction, and maintain high
standards in social, environmental, ethical and safety
compliance.
• The Star Innovation Center is a pioneer in applying
Passive House technology to a tropical monsoon
climate, which features steady warm temperatures
year-round but extremely high relative humidity.

Factory with sustainable
environment
US-based Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture
(JPDA) has completed the first Certified Passive
House project in South Asia, proving that ultra-
high-performance efficiency standards are
achievable for buildings in any climate. 20
• Careful design and engineering of the building systems
and enclosure ensures that workers enjoy year-round
comfort in a workspace that provides abundant
natural light, low humidity, filtered fresh air, and
maintains temperatures near a constant 24 °C (77 °F).
• Thorough testing of the airtightness and remote
monitoring of the ongoing energy usage provide
quantitative confirmation of the building performance,
achieving projected operational cost savings for the
client and vastly upgraded workplace environmental
standards for the employees.
• From the outset the agenda was to assemble an
integrated project team including local architects,
engineers, fabricators and builders to encourage
technology transfer and demonstrate the feasibility of
high performance building in the region.
• By promoting the project’s goals and inspiring the local
building industry JPDA has sought to establish a clear
path to both reducing global carbon emissions and
putting an end to worker “sweatshop” conditions.

Ceiling and walls were removed from existing building Extra elements were added
HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC SYSTEM WAS INSTULLED AIR TIGHT

HIGH PERFORMING DOORS AND WINDOWSINSULATIONS
ROOF WITH SOLAR PANELS

Main Stay House / Matt
Fajkus Architecture
Affordable Main Stay House in Austin keeps
occupants cool without air conditioning
35
• Texas firm Matt Fajkus Architecture has completed a
family home in Austin that features rooms with sliding
glass walls, enabling the spaces to be fully opened to
the outdoors.
• Called the Main Stay House, the dwelling is located on
a slender urban lot in Austin's Bouldin Creek
neighbourhood.
• Encompassing 3,271 square feet (304 square metres),
the two-storey house contains four bedrooms, an
office, a playroom and a slender yard with a swimming
pool.
• The east facade, allowing the structure to fully open
up the living zone to the yard.
• The masonry also contrasts an otherwise muted
interior atmosphere of smooth, desaturated surfaces.

No Air Conditioning
in summers
"The house isn't about over-the-top opulence,
but style, creativity and substance," said Matt
Fajkus Architecture,
36
• As anyone who has spent time in Texas during the
summer knows, air conditioning can be your best
friend.
• But MF Architecture wanted to create a home that
didn’t need all that energy-sucking AC, but could still
keep dwellers cool.
• To achieve this, they focused on the home’s site
orientation, thermal bridge-free connections and
airtightness.
• All of the openings were placed to welcome in plenty
of light without bringing in the hot western sun.
• Simple and yet clever design moves enable a free-
flowing plan and section which allow an abundance of
natural light without overheating during the hot
summer days.
• The pool was situated so that breezes could flow over
the water and carry the cool relief indoors.

Passive Elemets To
Keep House Cool
The dwelling is fronted by an opaque bar, lined
with stucco and clad in grey ironspot brick – a
textured brick made with a mix that results in
colour variations. Rectangular pavers lead to a
hidden front door. 37
• Trees provide dappled light, and a large roof overhang
keeps direct sunlight out of the home.
• The result is plenty of light without the heat
• The Pool Court capitalizes on the dappled light from
the tree, roof overhang, natural breeze and water.
• Various openings are carefully considered in each
interior space to withstand the harsh west sun,
providing a balance of daylight and shading while
reducing reliance to artificial lighting.
• Operable windows with double glazing and low E
coatings to provide cross ventilation.
• A more robust framing method (2x6) is used with
advanced insulation.
• The inside of the house is cool enough to live without
a functioning a/c even in the hottest months.
• All wood products use formaldehyde free binders, and
only low VOC paint was specified.

Heat Can’t Overpower
Your House
The house is built to endure the hot climate of
central Texas, from orientation to framing to
airtightness to thermal-bridge free connections.
39
• This entry volume demarcates the line between public,
common and private spaces, which gives in inhabitants
plenty of privacy, but also provides for ample
entertaining space.
• The living room freely opens into the yard, and is
devoid of visual and spatial obstacles.
• This is achieved by placing the service core along the
east facade.
• The open-plan layout allows natural light to fill the
interior and reduce reliance on artificial lighting.
• Cross ventilation is enable by double-glazed operable
windows and low-E coating.
• Advanced insulation helps keep the house cool in the
summer.
• Despite its sleek, energy-efficient design features, the
house was relatively cheap to construct-only $250 per
square foot.

The Hudson Passive
Project
The Hudson Passive Project is a green home by
architect Dennis Wedlick that incorporates
principles of passive solar design to drastically
reduce costs.
48
• The Hudson Passive Project is an energy conservation
project, a prototype home-of-tomorrow that
demonstrates the energy-saving potential of
residential architecture.
• The stunning glazed dwelling sits within the Hudson
Valley just two hours north of the city.
• Dubbed the Hudson Passive Project, this cutting-edge
dream home is not only beautiful, it’s proudly New
York State’s first-ever certified passive house.
• The Hudson Passive Project is the first certified passive
house in New York State and among the highest
performing homes in the world.
• This particular passive house is the result of the
challenge BarlisWedlick Architects LLC set itself two
years ago: to design a high-performance home that
was both beautiful and quick to build.
• The Hudson Passive Project is the first certified passive
house in New York State.

Supper Energy Efficient
Passive House
The exterior of the Hudson Passive Project may exude the
traditional barn-like stylings of the historic New York
Hudson Valley, but behind the wood and stone cladding
is an ultra-tight, super-insulated home that meets the
stringent certification requirements of the Passive House
program. 49
• This particular passive house is the result of the
challenge BarlisWedlick Architects LLC set itself two
years ago: to design a high-performance home that
was both beautiful and quick to build.
• The result is a three-bedroom, two-bath passive house
that blends beautifully with its rural surroundings.
• The Hudson Passive Project represents a skillful
combination of design, craft, and technology.
• Its remarkable efficiency is derived primarily from its
architectural design and meticulous construction.
• The house does not rely on external technologies like
photovoltaics, wind turbines, or solar thermal hot
water systems; instead, its high performance is almost
entirely a function of its design.
• At first glance, however, it is the aesthetics of the
house that immediately set it apart.
• While it may be an example of cutting-edge green
design, the Hudson Passive Project has the easy
appearance of the old stone barns common to the
region.

Orientation
To achieve efficiency goals for the 1,650-square-
foot, three-bedroom, two-bath house, Wedlick
focused on five core areas: a compact shape,
continuous insulation and elimination of thermal
breaks, passive solar gain, air circulation with heat
recovery, and air leak prevention.
50
• Inside, graceful bow-arch beams—25 feet at their
apex—frame an open, loft-like floor plan.
• A south-facing wall of glass lends this “traditional”
home a distinctly contemporary feel.
• The building is simple in its design, with a cathedral
form and south-facing glazing to optimize solar gains.
• Its shape was inspired by the original Long Houses
built in this region by the Iroquois that were open at
the southern end to receive the sun’s warmth and
light.
• The building’s form and the use of large Structural
Insulated Panels (SIPs) help minimize seams and joints
where air leaking typically occurs.
• The east and west elevations of the house recall the
basic, pure form of the Dutch barn, a shape native to
the Hudson Valley, which was part of the early New
Netherland settlements.
• The sides are clad in local granite rock, adding
elegance but only negligible thermal value.

Materials
The project which encompassed nearly three
years of research and development was
constructed in only four months. It is the first
certified passive house in New York State and
one of the most energy-efficient homes in the
country.
51
• The structure is composed of custom-designed beams
that hold the SIPs in place.
• Made from southern yellow pine, the beams are glue-
laminated to form elegant arch-bow curves that
allowed the architects to maximize the building’s span
and minimize joints.
• Built off-site and set into place, the SIPs, which meet
the airtight-layer and thermal-insulation requirements
necessary for Passive House certification, are eight by
twenty-four feet and faced with oriented strand board
(OSB).
• Under the foundation slab are twelve inches of rigid
extruded polystyrene (EPS) insulation.
• . With two levels, it hosts three bedrooms, two
bathrooms, a small entertainment room and a huge
loft-like living space framed by graceful bow arch
beams built to a whopping 25 feet at their apex.

Frame Structure and Air
Tight Structure
What is a "Passive House"?
The term describes a house that meets the
rigorous standards for energy efficiency
established by the German Passivhaus Institut.
52
• The timberframe structure features glulam beams and
SIPs, chosen as an easier method for minimizing
thermal bridging versus double-stud walls.
• The 12 1/4-inch-thick Timberline SIPs provide an R-
value of 50 for the walls and 53 for the roof.
• The team insulated the foundation to R-60 using six
layers of Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam beneath the
slab and Extruded polystyrene XPS foam on the
interior and exterior of the walls.
• Wedlick says maximizing insulation performance and
minimizing leakage relies on techniques that are
simple but that require close supervision.
• The efforts paid off: In a blower-door test, the house
measured 0.149 ACH@50 Pascals, well below the
Passive House requirement of 0.6.
• Though barn-inspired in shape and cladding materials,
the structure’s south-facing glass wall provides for a
modern feel as well as ample daylighting; the R-7
triple-pane windows from Serious Materials are
shaded in summer by the A-frame overhang.

Section-diagram detail showing areas requiring special attention
to prevent air leakage.

Passive solar house

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