Australian Passive Solar Home

New homes in Australia now need to meet 7-star energy rating. That’s actually pretty easy with normal architectural passive solar design principles, but those principles include a north orientation. (That is, extensive window area needs to face north – it doesn’t mean the front door needs to face north.)

But bulk home builders in Australia never specify orientation – you can orientate their house designs any way you like. That in turns means that windows become energy efficiency negatives – they’re big holes in the walls that let heat through. The result? I think maybe new home designs in Australia are getting smaller windows.

This new McDonalds Jones home is a good example. No floor to ceiling windows on the front, and quite narrow windows (sliding doors excepted) on the back.

Of course, design a house with passive solar design principles and you can have large windows flooding the house with winter sunshine – and better energy efficiency to boot.