Jackson Digney shows how to use natural airflow to cool an Adelaide home without relying on air-conditioning. He explains cross-ventilation, which captures sea breezes through western windows and exhausts them north, and the stack effect, where warm air rising draws cooler air in through ceiling vents. Five design tips include orienting rooms for airflow, using casement windows, ventilating roof spaces with whirlybirds, shading external paving, and placing plants near windows.
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Did you know that a properly designed, energy-efficient home can utilize the air that moves naturally around it to help cool it on hot days? During all seasons, we rely on a properly sealed building envelope to help maintain a temperature inside our homes. In summer, we have to work with the change in temperature across the day to make the most efficient use of cooling systems. A well-sealed building helps keep cool air in and hot air out, but it won't prevent heating of the house. One of the biggest challenges in Adelaide and the Hills is that our sea breezes come from the south to southwest. This means that moving air through a home can be difficult as it has to find its way through a labyrinth of bedrooms and hallways before reaching common areas on the northern side. In order to ensure that homes with excellent northerly aspects Ventilate well on hot days, your home design needs to consider airflows, which can be easily driven by sea breezes. This means ensuring that air can be captured and brought through the house, especially via the western elevations, then expelled to the north. This process is commonly referred to as cross ventilation. Another form of ventilation which occurs almost naturally in 2-storey homes and can be generated in a single-storey home is stack effect. This occurs This is when air is drawn in at lower levels and expelled at higher levels via the hot air rising and pulling in the cooler air from the ground. In a single-story home, we use specially designed vents in the ceiling which utilize the rising hot air in the ceiling space to draw cooler air into the house. This lowers power bills as it cuts down the need for late afternoon air conditioning use. We have 5 top tips for making sure your home design ventilates well in the few cool hours of the evening and that we get in Adelaide. Number 1, ensure rooms in the house are oriented and set out to allow easy flow of air through the whole house. Where possible, select windows with large openings such as sliding or casement windows. Casement windows are ideal as they open like doors, so can also act as a funnel to bring wind into the house. Ensure your roof space is well ventilated using whirlybirds or condor vents. Try to minimize the amount of direct light that falls on the outside paving of the house. This reduces the amount that the air is heated up as it passes into the home. Where possible, have gardens and plants nearby to window openings, as these help to moderate the temperature of air as it comes into the home. In our next blog, we will give you the 4 tips to correctly shading your home's windows and doors to maximize their protection from the sun during the hottest times of the day. Would you like a more If you want a more detailed look at airflow through your home, you can download the second in our series of guides on, on designing an energy-efficient home right now. Click the link below to download the guide to make sure your home ventilates efficiently to improve comfort and save on your energy bills.
