Design
Patterns and Recommendations
6.
Orientation
–
Laying out a plan
 Whether a single house or an entire
development, the way that houses are oriented and related to the land has great potential
to enhance their sustainability by dramatically reducing the amount of energy and material
resources they consume. By orienting a building according to the principles of passive
solar design, free solar heat can be gained, or undesirable heat gain avoided. The layout of a house design can simplify framing,
reducing both material and labor costs. Similarly,
homes designed with space efficiency in mind can provide comfortable living with less
square footage at a lower cost and with less resource consumption.
Recommendations:
§
Design the house to be responsive to the micro-climate of
the site.
§
Site the house according to the terrain, to minimize the
necessity for site preparation and excavation work.
§
Orient the house to take advantage of passive solar in
heating climates, and to present least surface to the south in cooling climates.
§
Prefer building designs that reduce the ratio of surface
area to square footage.
§
Design homes based on 2-foot modules to simplify framing
and reduce waste.
§
Cluster and centralize utilities to reduce ducting and
piping use and efficiency loss in transmission.
§ Use
long views in an open floorplan and built-in storage to make a small space “live
larger.”
Reference:
§
Whole Building Design
Guide
§
Passive
Solar
Design, California Energy Commission
§
“Passive Solar
Guidelines,” Sustainable Building Sourcebook
§
Passive
Solar Heating, Cooling and Daylighting, US DOE
§
SunAngle
(an online shareware tool for calculating solar angles)
§
Low-Cost Solar Applications for Retrofit or Affordable Housing,
North Carolina Solar Center
§
“State Guides on
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency,” Solar
Energy Research and Education Foundation
Applied
in Case Studies:
§
Casa
Verde Builders
§
Casas
de Don Juan
§
Cascadia
§
Esperanza
del Sol
§
GreenHOME
I
§
Hawaii
BuiltGreen Home
§
Home
Town – Neighborhood Development
§
Metro
Denver HFH “Green” Program
Additional Examples:
§
T.E.S.T.
House
§
Hopelink
Place
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