In this post about the design of bioclimatic facades of houses, single-family homes, buildings or any element built, want to focus on savings energy and efficiency strategies energy of the building fronts – surround.
We will discuss how the orientation of a certain façade in the use of solar radiation and on the energy balance of a home or a building and we will provide some strategies to take into account during the design phase that will help to reduce and optimize the energy demand in each orientation.
If we look at the bioclimatic analysis of a housing , for a standard housing located in the northern hemisphere, and specifically within latitude corresponding to the Iberian Peninsula, we recommend the following guidelines for action and design of the façade of a house :
Depending on the situation and location on the planet, the architecture orientation may seem confused … How to recognize orientation solar on a façade? … We leave the image of a application to orient us about the direction of the sun depending on location.
Access to the application here, comes from the article on sunbathing techniques and practical calculation. (History of orientation in architecture here)
Now we will get into the features and guidelines of orientation of spaces in a house attentive to certain aspects necessary that we must recognize in the world of orientation bioclimatic architecture, advantages and disadvantages, and its possibilities before the path of the Sun.
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In this type of facades facing North , normally the sun does not hit directly, so that it only receives some solar radiation at first and last minute during the summer months when the sun makes a longer journey or trajectory.
– The areas not habitable as bathrooms, toilets, kitchens, facilities, corridors, distributors or accesses, stairs, etc...
– Design requires facades with a small percentage of holes , with few doors and windows to the exterior, to avoid energy losses since they are the areas with higher heating demands winter.
– Distribution of the dwelling in two zones or spaces, so that so that the non-habitable areas and the passageways are grouped in the back facing north.
The summer on the East façade will have a greater impact directly and for a longer time so that it is when provides a much greater amount of sunlight to rooms with this orientation.
– Areas of use or rooms will be distributed as the area of kitchen or day area that take advantage of sunlight from the tomorrow.
– It is convenient to design some type of porch or element of shading by plant species of deciduous leaf, which allows to take advantage of the sun in winter and limit excess summer radiation. It's a good one strategy of protection of the envelope of the house on the bioclimatic façade .
– Passive sun protections are recommended in the openings with vertical slat systems and not horizontal . The reason is that when receiving the angle of solar inclination smaller, if we place horizontal slats the sun would filter through and may disturb or dazzle, which would not be an effective system.
– It is also recommended to reduce the size of the holes so that it is not excessive, in this way also we will avoid having excessive heating demands in winter as well as cooling in summer, although this also will depend on the climatic parameters and the severity of the climatic zone in which it is located.
The South facades are of great importance. It is undoubtedly the housing area that receives the most amount of solar radiation, especially in summer, being therefore the main front – frontis towards the that the house should open up in its projection and design, since it is where it receives
– Those will be distributed in the southern zone of the same stays where you normally spend more time and require more light as the main hall or living area, the main bedrooms of the house, etc.
– It is convenient that most of the main façade of the house is oriented to the south to get the maximum use of the sun, and that in this orientation the facades have more number of holes than in the rest of the orientations of the housing.
– It is recommended to take into account in the design and construction site if any neighboring buildings, nearby buildings or other types of natural or other obstacles that may cast shade to our bioclimatic ventilated façade , as that this may condition its location within the plot or plot.
– Special attention should be paid to the design of the solar protections such as cantilevers or roof eaves, since which is the façade that receives the most sunlight, so that an optimal but not excessive flight length must be projected, since in summer the sun hits at a very steep angle, while in winter the sun falls much lower and must be allow solar gain. They try to get in every season of the year the adequate use of the quantity of solar radiation necessary to improve the balance of the rooms with said orientation.
Keep in mind that the analysis bioclimatic of a house has some significant features compared to the houses traditional. From the following image we can see large the most notable different features of a construction towards sustainability:
On the west façade . the sun hits fundamentally after noon, especially due to the afternoon receiving the solar radiation of the last hours of the day. The angle of the sun on the façade goes decaying as the hours pass until sunset sun.
-It is convenient to arrange the rooms such as the garage, the South-facing room services, leisure areas or games, etc.
– The openings of these facades will be arranged in such a way that, together with those that open on the façades facing this, allow adequate cross ventilation for the ventilation of the house as well as proper cooling night in summer.
– To avoid glare, as in the case of façades facing east, it is advisable to have passive sun protection on eggs with vertical slats and not horizontal.
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In the following infographic we can identify the facades of a house and its key points for determine the orientation of spaces in a housing :
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– Know the direction of the winds predominant in the area where the façade of the home, in this way it will be located and shall design the façade in such a way that intrusion must be avoided indoors, as this would contribute to higher losses or energy gains.
If necessary to avoid this effect, you can design plant screens using trees or vegetation that help block such air circulation over the facade of the house .
– Find an optimal percentage of gaps in depending on the orientation of each façade of the living place. Trying that the facades to the south are the ones that have a higher percentage of holes and those facing north those that less, this will help in a very favorable way to reduce energy demands.
In the following scheme we can distinguish the facades with gaps optimal in a %.
| FACADE ORIENTATION | OPTIMAL % OF GAPS |
| NORTH | 10-15% |
| EAST | <20%. |
| SOUTH | 40-60% |
| WEST | <20%. |
– Incorporate into the design of the home some element in transit areas, distributors or corridors, with windows or practicable openings in the upper area or on the roof, which can be opened in summer to promote ventilation and passive natural cooling, especially in areas where the summers are hotter.
– Optimal design of overhangs and eaves on the south facades and choice of protections solar panels suitable for holes. A good option would be to resort to shutters with movable slats adjustable, with horizontal slats to the south and vertical to the east and to the west.
For an adequate application of the strategies of design of a façade from the point of view of the energy efficiency, it is very important to take into account that each home will require specific strategies such as: The climatic zone in which it is located, climate characteristics location, its altitude above sea level, the presence of natural obstacles or buildings that can alter the natural solar contribution or the circulation and direction of the prevailing winds, closeness or proximity to the sea, etc...
In each case, based on these factors, the technician must analyze and assess which are the most appropriate strategies.
To increase knowledge it is recommended to see the construction techniques of bioclimatic facades in the article how to build bioclimatic houses where 38 tiles are shown great value.
It is evident that the location of the dwelling within the plot will be the one that determines the characteristics of our home in its envelope and in energy efficiency of it.
Not all constructions have as many possibilities and some even have a facade against the Sun, but we have wanted to look for an example of orientation in housing so that we realize that we are not at odds neither with good taste nor with design at practice an optimal arrangement in the house that we are going to live.
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Points of interest:
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Note: A colleague of ours via linkedin has suggested a video… « Geolocate the model to cast actual sun and shadows on the en Sketchup «. Very practical and worth your viewing to be able to obtain real shadows and in a quickly on the facades of houses before our projects or the buildings that we can locate.
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