Exterior Doors, Windows & Louvres
 |
||
Exterior Doors ELEMENT: Finlaysons Timber and Hardware AIM: Easy maintenance of the doors was a large factor for the selection of the door type. This reduces the time and ongoing costs associated in maintaining the doors in the future. STRATEGY: Maximise the Use of Sustainable Resources The doors and frames are made from forest plantation hoop pine timber. Having materials that are from sustainable plantations reduces the demand for native forest timbers that take many years (if ever) to regenerate. Plantation forests are a valuable renewable resource which provide timber for the use in homes. Conserve Energy The heat loss from a house through the gaps around the doors and windows is around 12%. Sealing the gaps around the doors protects against a variety of intrusions. The gaps can be sealed to reduce sound transmittance, driving rain, cold draughts that bring dust and embers, insects and vermin. High performance brassware was selected for the quality and durability of the products. The brassware is machine and hand polished to ensure a consistent polished finish. The brassware has high quality multi resin lacquers and electrophoretic finishes for longevity of the finish. The exterior doors have glazed panels to assist in the admittance of day light. This reduces the demand for electric lighting during the day. The glazed panels provide an outlook to the exterior for user comfort and security. REFERENCE: Raven Products Information 1996. ELEMENT: Breezway Louvres with glass and timber blades AIM: The purpose of exterior facing windows on the house is to allow air flow and day light into the building which reduces the amount of energy consumed by the house. STRATEGY: Optimise Passive Design From the use of the building, the access of daylighting was found to be adequate in the smaller northern pavilion. In the larger pavilion, the plan depth (the distance from the perimeter wall to the interior) is greater. Also the window areas were reduced to avoid heat gain. As a consequence, a strategy for providing day lighting in this pavilion was needed otherwise electrical light would have been necessary. Using electrical lighting during the day would have increased the energy consumption of the building significantly. In this case the pop-up roofs were designed to allow daylight by orientating these to the south. The advantage of south light is that it is primarily diffused light with little direct solar radiation. The shading strategies were analysed on the northern elevation. The northern elevation was the main focus of the shdading strategy analysis. The bulding is designed to have the largest areas of glass to the nroth and east for solar gain. As a consequence of the shading analysis, a number of modifications were made to the original design, including:
The windows in the Healthy Home have been designed and positioned to allow for the flow of air inside the building. The purpose of ventilation inside the house is to provide fresh air to the occupants, cool the building and cool the occupants. The highest air speeds occur inside the building when a small inlet on
the windward side is combined with a large outlet in the opposing wall.
This effect is desirable for summer cooling when an increase in the internal
air velocity is required for internal comfort. The increase in velocity
of the air flow is called a venturi effect. This is important in summer where the air temperatures are above the comfort level. Air speeds of up to 1 m per second are needed to provide evaporative cooling to the body. The venturi effects found in this building can achieve this kind of effect giving a reduction of approximately 2 deg C. REFERENCE: Hyde, R, Climate Responsive Design. A Study of Buildings in Moderate
and Hot Humid Climates. E and FN Spon, London 2000. ELEMENT:
Azurlite Glass AIM: The design team selected a blue tinted glass for the glazing of the house to control the heat gain while still allowing a good level of day lighting. The blue tinting is very subtle and does not effect the outlook from the house. STRATEGY: Conserve Energy Smart window technology involves the study of the glazing of a building to reduce glare and heat gain from the sun. The technology also aims to provide appropriate day lighting levels and ventilation inside the building. The glazing was assessed using the GSL energy modelling program (developed at the Queensland University of Technology), and the Radiance program, which evaluates interior light levels. GSL is used to compare different types of glazing within a given window and building design. Using these modelling tools the design team selected a blue tinted Azurlite glass with a low emittance coating. The glass type is specifically engineered to absorb a significant amount of the sun's near infrared heat energy with reduces the transfer of heat into the home. The glass has excellent visible light transmission (71% for 6mm Azurlite) which means the interior of the home is illuminated for longer by natural daylight. The blue tinting is very subtle and does not detract from the outlook. South facing glazing that is not exposed to direct sunlight is not tinted. This reduced the overall cost of the glazing for the house REFERENCE: GSL fact sheet. School of MMME, Queensland University of Technology,
Queensland. |
|
|
| Date Modified: 26 June, 2003 | ||
