Cooling the house on a budget - ideas please?

[prozac]

Like MS says. Build an external shade system that blocks the higher angle summer sun, but alows the low angle sun of winter to get below it. If sheeting it use a clear or opal polycarbonate sheeting. This will not reduce the light significantly. It could be covered just in battens over the rafters. This would allow the air to circulate but will stop the sun at the angle you have designed it for.

The design does not have to droop down, as you can angle the shade frame upwards away from the house using the declanation of the sun to give you the angles required to block only the summer sun.

You can spend endless amounts of money on insulation and cooling, but the most important thing you can do is stop the sun's rays getting into your home to begin with. Window coverings on the outside of the glass are more efficient than those on the inside.

The house faces west? Then the other side of the house faces east? You need to stop this sun also as it will heat the house up early.

Do you have immediate neighbours? If you can open up the northern walls of your home it doesn't matter so much if you make mistakes shading to the west.

Lastly in a split level home any ventilation placed at the highest part of the ceiling will draw out heat as it accumulates.

[scooter]

Not much to add, except to say if you put up polycarbonate roofing , look at the light transmission, and heat transmission figures for the different colours and bear them in mind when you make your decision.

This is not meant to be an ad for laserlite, I just remember the figures. Their classic cream colour was the "coolest" sheet of all their colours, including the flash premium range stuff, yet still allows 33% of light through, which compares very well to some of their other colours.

[wheelinround]

A home we owned a few years back had westerly facing windows when we bought it had awnings made the place dark dismal.

I got the idea from one of the motels in town this not only helped light enter but cooled the rooms with shadows falling from the slats.

LOML drove past this Oct the present owners still have them there 7 yrs after we sold.

The motel had theirs on poles mounted approx 300mm/500mm from the windows and from ground to top of pole approx 6 foot, larger shadows formed.

[prozac]

You could grow grapes on those! Cut back the stem in winter as in a vineyard, nice shady leaves in summer...roll out the barrel.

[Glen]

We tinted our windows a few years back and in conjunction with the other stuff air con and insulation it does make a difference and also cuts down UV and adds privacy in the daytime, can't remember the cost but I don't think it was overly expensive. Just another avenue to consider.

[rhancock]

First of all unless you have air conditioning of some sort the insulation is not all it is cracked up to be. The first day of hot weather it is a help, by the second day the house is a little warmer and by day three the house is quite warm - now the crunch is that after three days of hot weather the house is no cooler during the day but during the night the insulation actually keeps the heat in, whereas an uninsulated house does cool down at night time.

Now onto the air conditioning; I don't understand the turning corners bit but the important points are 1/ do you wish to cool the whole house or just one or two rooms ( maybe a bedroom and lounge) 2/ Is the running cost of high importance. 3/ do you wish to use it for heating in winter.

Denn

I disagree with this entirely. We live in QLD, and we don't have aircon, but the difference since we insulated the ceiling is noticeable even by guests who live in similar houses without insulation.

One key trick is to keep the house shut up in the morning when its coldest. Don't open any doors or windows until its past the hottest part of the day. Then in the early afternoon, work on keeping the sun off the west of the house - trees, awnings, blinds, window tinting. Finally, once the heat has gone out of the day, which sometimes here isn't until 10pm, open up the whole house to blow out the day's heat.

We've also got ceiling fans everywhere, 2 in the lounge and even 2 on the deck.

Probably on the hottest 5 days of the year, we go and sit under the house in the paddling pool!

If you want a good explanation of the summer shade and winter sun awning, Josh Byrne explains it really well in "The Green Gardener". If you can't find it, I'll try and scan it.

If you want details from people as passionate about sustainability as woodies are about woodwork, have alook here: http://forums.permaculture.org.au/in...06e506e5d0a136

Also see what your local council suggests. If they don't have good information for you, ask them why not!

[Wild Dingo]

1) Verandahs... all round if possible

2) Louver windows!!... if not windows then make some louvers (if you need a plan give me a hoi and I'll email you a simple pdf I got from somewhere or other...
3) fans... every room

4) trellis... with wisteria or grape or passionfruit or whatever! idea is to shade yet catch any breeze

5) wirlybird things on the roof... bunnings sell the cheeper ones for about $60 I think and do it yourself... or get your other half up there to do it!

6) Plant tress yes... but if your in the dandenongs then check out what the shire may have in place as for distance from house as a fire retardent

7) Sprinker system to the roof... dont laugh!! this is a bloody great idea one of my better in fact!... set some sprinklers on the roof line say one every 4mtrs or so... run the hose attachment down to the tap... and turn the damned things on for half an hour in the morning thus cooling the house right down then with all the above in place your house is assured to say cool as a cucumber all day

Added bonus with the sprinkler idea is as a fire retardant... a drenched house will have less chance of catching fire than a dry one in a blaze... those fireys dont use all that water for nothing... think about it.

I personally I think it was the design flaw of the century when archetects and whoever else designs homes did away with the old louver window... remember years back having full length louver windows double movement so you could open the bottom louvers or top to catch the best breeze for the time of day... damn the archetects!! yeah yeah we gots them on the board

Anyway a bunch of ideas that you can go with... or not... and some you can make yourself... or not... but with summer on its way time to pull your finger out eh

ooh and do let us know what you decide

[bunce]

I have raked ceilings. Is that like, half a cathedral??? I've just bought this house and being in the living room is like being in the roof - in fact it IS living in the roof! The house is well placed on the land and hardly gets any direct sun but there's no ventilation at all, except for a large window up high, with a winder opener, which only opens about 4" and simply lets little or no hot air out. I'm having an 8KW a/c installed tomorrow but I'm annoyed that it's so pleasant and breezy outside and such an oven inside. There are exposed beams in the ceiling. If I put a whirlygig in the roof/ceiling, will weather or wildlife be able to get in? Is it possible to "turn them off" as it would be cold in winter. Are skylights that open with a winder, very expensive to be installed as $ are tight. I considered lining the beams with insulation and putting a ceiling over them but that's a very expensive proposition and I wouldn't even know who to get to do such a job. I'd still have to get air to move in the house in summer. Any answers and help will be greatly appreciated.
Bunce

[Brickie]

I'd still have to get air to move in the house in summer. Any answers and help will be greatly appreciated.
Bunce

If you want air circulating and cooling then evaporative is the only way to go..

[Gypsy]

I invested in heavy drapes and keep them/windows closed unless home. Windows always stay closed to keep out hot air. Shade cloth on windows. Saw someone make sisolation (spelling?) blinds in the magazine Owners Builders and think they would work well.