Building Design: Simple Ways To Make Your Home Even More Energy Efficient
Energy is one of the main concerns that home builders across the country should have in mind when designing their future builds. In all developed countries, energy consumption accounts for a huge chunk of domestic utility bills. In the hot Australian climate, the case is the same due to an abundant need for indoor cooling. Through building design, you can help to lower these energy costs without affecting your living habits in any way. Read on to see how.
Build smaller rooms
The larger your rooms are, the more air they hold and the more it costs to cool or heat that air. One way to make your home more energy conservative, therefore, is to build smaller rooms in terms of the floor plan. This allows you to compartmentalise your house so that you can quickly and cheaply cool specific rooms with ease. In that regard, avoid large rooms or open-plan settings.
Go for taller ceilings
Through building design, you can encourage natural cooling by building taller ceilings. You can achieve this by adding just about a foot of your walls' height. The added height allows hot air to collect further up away from the ground where you occupy. Coupled with other natural cooling methods explained below, this design feature can go a long way in reducing your need for powered cooling.
Invest in traditional ventilation systems
When most people think of cooling, they immediately think of air conditioner and fans. However, there are other ways to limit reliance on these cooling systems. One of them is by investing more in traditional ventilation systems such ridge vents, turbine vents, soffit vents, and wall vents. These traditional ventilation systems allow hot air to seamlessly disperse out of your home on its own, leaving your home cool.
Don't compromise on roof insulation
Lastly, go full out on for insulation. Roof insulation has a tremendous effect on the energy efficiency of your home, more than any other insulated surface in the entire structure. Roof insulation is like a blanket that can keep your home cool or warm as needed. To achieve this, you can install insulation wool around the attic and the under-roof. Alternatively, you can install insulated roof panels or structural insulated roof decking.
Your build design team can further help you make your home more energy-conscious by selecting different build materials that insulate your home better, e.g. plasterboard, structural insulated wall panels, and more. For more information, contact a business such as Bill Jacobs Pty. Ltd.
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