How To Design Home with Natural Air Conditioning

If you are designing a new home and are undecided about whether or not you need to have mechanical air conditioning, it would be well worth your time and money to talk to an architect who understands green design principles about natural air conditioning for your home.

Designing your home properly can reduce or eliminate your need for an air conditioning system.

How to Design Home with Natural Air Conditioning

Your architect will need to consider environment and your site location

Your architect will need to consider the environment and your site location. Siting the house properly to take advantage of sun angles and natural winds will go a long way in naturally air conditioning your home. This is an important part of green home design.

Achieving natural air conditioning depends

Achieving natural air conditioning depends, in part, on obtaining cross ventilation in all living spaces. You will need to be sure to orient operable windows as far apart as possible to take advantage of cross ventilation.

Clerestory windows

Clerestory windows, or high wall windows, are a real help when trying to naturally cool your home.

When the clerestory windows are made operable, you create what is called a, chimney effect.

With low and high windows both open, cool air can enter your home through low windows and hot air can escape through your clerestory windows.

If possible, your architect should place most of the glass on the north and south walls, while limiting glass on the east and west walls.

This will minimize solar heat gain from the east and west when the sun is at low angles in the morning and evening hours.

Talk to your architect about designing large overhangs.

Overhangs will shade your walls and glass from the sun, which will reduce solar heat gain and assist with natural air conditioning.

If possible, your architect should place most of the glass on the north and south walls, while limiting glass on the east and west walls.

This will minimize solar heat gain from the east and west when the sun is at low angles in the morning and evening hours.

Talk to your architect about designing large overhangs.

Overhangs will shade your walls and glass from the sun, which will reduce solar heat gain and assist with natural air conditioning.