Air Conditioning in Custom Home Design
The building envelope (architectural term) is the best place to start in order to receive optimum benefit from your cooling system. Adequate sealing of leaks, installation of insulation in walls, floors and ceilings, reduced room size and ceiling height and well planned glazing will all help to reduce the size of the unit required and make the cooling system more efficient.
- •The demand on the system can be further reduced by locating it in the coolest part of the house and using shading to provide some passive cooling.
- •Carefully choose rooms to be air-conditioned according to use. Do not air-condition all rooms.
- •Avoid air-conditioning rooms that have high level indoor - outdoor traffic or, use air-locks to minimise hot air infiltration.
- •Locate sleeping spaces so that convective air-movement and conduction through walls shared with air-conditioned spaces will provide indirect cooling benefits.
- •Decide which rooms will receive most benefit depending on use. Often one or two rooms will be sufficient to provide comfort during periods of high humidity and temperatures.
- •Design these rooms with high levels of insulation and lowest exposure to external temperature influences (usually in the centre of the house).
- •Ensure that rooms not requiring mechanical cooling have maximum passive cooling and use them as a thermal buffer to cooled spaces.
- •Use fans and cross ventilation to improve comfort in non-air-conditioned spaces.
- •Insulation acts as a barrier to heat flow and is essential to keep your home warm in winter and cool in summer. A well insulated and well designed home will provide year-round comfort, cutting cooling and heating bills by up to half. This, in turn, will reduce greenhouse emissions.
- •Climatic conditions will influence the appropriate level and type of insulation. Establish whether the insulation will be predominantly needed to keep heat out or in (or both). Insulation must cater for seasonal as well as daily variations in temperature.
- It is clear to that a home architect can assist with this process.
Other Considerations a Home Architect Considers
- Address condensation in externally ventilated rooms surrounding air-conditioned rooms.
- Dewpoints form where humid air comes into contact with a cooled surface.
- When insulated walls surround and air-conditioned space, a vapor barrier should be installed between the warm humid air and the insulation material.
- Any linings placed over the vapor barrier should be resistant to damage from condensation by choosing appropriate materials and finishes.
- Identify the months and times of day mechanical cooling will be required.
- Use advanced control systems, sensors and timers to reduce total operating hours.