It's important to let air flow through your home
Often when we talk about designing your home or renovation, we discuss the merits of making the most of natural elements. Typically the number one natural element we consider in South East Queensland home designs is that of cool summer breezes.
But how exactly do you take advantage of this form of natural cooling?
Well to better understand this, we need to understand how air-flow actually works.
Try this simple test. Take an empty milk bottle and blow into the spout. What happens? You can feel the air blowing back against your face. That is because there is already air inside the milk bottle, which forms a barrier against the air that you’re trying to blow in. Just inside the milk bottle the air will be circulating, but further towards the back of the bottle there will be very little air movement at all.
You may have already experienced this phenomenon in your own home, where you open a window and feel the beautifully refreshing cool breeze, but the further you move away from the window, the less effect that breeze has.
But what happens if you put a hole in the bottom, or even the sides of the milk bottle and then blow into it? Chances are you will feel the breeze from your breath flowing out of this hole. This is because the air coming into the bottle from your breath is now able to push out the air that was already inside the bottle. The result? A nice cooling flow of air can now pass through the entire bottle.
Breaking down the barriers
So you might think, based on this example that the solution is to open a door or window at the other end of your house. And whilst that may work for your home, chances are that it won’t. So why doesn’t this work?
Well in the milk bottle example the bottle is hollow. Once you put a hole in the bottom of the bottle the air moving in from your mouth can move straight through. But in the average home there are walls which impede the natural flow of air. If a breeze coming through an open window runs straight into a right angle wall, then the air flow is stopped in its tracks.
This is where clever architectural design comes into play. By understanding which direction from which the cooling breezes predominantly approach your property, as well as understanding how to allow this flow of air to move unimpeded throughout your home, it’s possible to dramatically cool any property naturally. When you consider how a well designed home can be naturally cooled, it’s easy to see how an architectural design can potentially save you hundreds of dollars each year.
Don’t box the air in
Understanding the above example, you can now begin to see why using an architect can potentially save you a fortune over the life of your home. By using angled walls and curves in key areas, I can assist the air in moving freely throughout your home. Compare this to a draftsperson who basically designs square boxes with little understanding of how to utilise natural air-flow.
Of course that doesn’t mean that your entire house needs to be curved or angled walls. It’s all about allowing the air that’s inside your home to be pushed out be the breeze that’s blowing in. Ventilation to the side of the room, can allow the stale hot air to escape. However, a well designed home from an air-flow point of view, allows a greater percentage of the home to be cooled naturally.
Can you improve the air-flow through my home?
Yes I can, but to what degree will depend on a number of factors, such as the size and position of your block, and any buildings, foliage or other structures that may surround your home.
When assessing the best way to increase air-flow through your home I Firstly consider the direction that cooling summer breezes predominantly come from. I then look at the parts of your home that these cool breezes collide with and ask myself these questions:
• Is there anything stopping the breeze from reaching your home such as walls, trees or other obstructions?
• Is there a doorway, window or a number of windows that can be opened to capture this breeze?
• Are the openings large enough to capture a sufficient amount of this breeze?
• Is there any reason that you would not want to open these windows/doorways (e.g. security, noise levels etc)?
• If you do open your windows/doors to let this cool breeze come into your home, how far into your home will the breeze penetrate? In other words, will the breeze immediately hit a wall at right angles, therefore lessening its effectiveness, or is it able to travel some distance throughout a number of rooms?
• Is there an area where this air can escape? If the flow of air is simply trapped in a number of rooms and can’t escape, then you will not get a true ‘flow’ of air throughout your home.
Of course all of this needs to be considered in your home or renovation design along with the most important consideration being your lifestyle. It’s pointless to simply design a home that can be cooled naturally if liveability is compromised in any way. This is yet another reason why having Dion Seminara Architecture design your home is a wise investment. We can create a design that completely suits your lifestyle needs whilst still taking advantage of the natural elements.
So if you want your renovation or new home design to enable you to live comfortably whilst dramatically reducing your power bills, then contact Dion Seminara Architecture today and let us help you achieve your liveability goals.
Click HERE to contact Dion Seminara Architecture.
