Sustainable design tips to ensure your new home is energy efficient - Tropical Edition

This is one of a series of articles that will detail some of the most cost-effective ways to ensure your home stays comfortable year-round. Making the right choices during the design phase is the best way to achieve the goal of a thermally efficient building.

Australia has a wide variety of climatic conditions which generally require a different design response for the best thermal performance. This article will focus on measures to improve the thermal performance in warm, coastal areas such as Central and Northern Queensland.

Shade and breeze access are vital in North Queensland

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1. Orientation – Try to keep living spaces away from the Western side of the house, locating a garage, bathroom or laundry here will protect from the hot afternoon sun. Kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms will benefit from access to cooling breezes. If possible, it is best to have the longest sides of the house facing North and South, this makes it easier to shade your house from the sun.

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2. Choose light colours – Having a light-coloured roof and walls will reflect radiation from the sun that would otherwise end up being absorbed into the house. Darker feature colours can be used on garages or on shaded walls such as those under a front porch.

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3. Shade – The best performing designs in North Queensland tend to have a verandah all the way around the house. This may not appeal to everyone but the theory can be applied to most styles of home. Incorporating a large eave overhang (>600mm) will keep the walls and windows of the house shaded for longer.

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4. Ventilation – Choose window types that allow the maximum opening area. Louvres, casement and tilt-turn windows will allow around 90% of their surface area to be open. More common sliding and double hung windows will only allow 45% air-flow.

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5. Insulation – Generally ceiling batts will perform better than an insulation blanket for a lower price. If combined with reflective sarking beneath the roof sheeting you will benefit further still. Walls should include a reflective wall wrap and insulation batts. Floors in Central and Northern Queensland are best left uninsulated to allow ground contact to moderate the internal temperatures. Some homes with timber floors may benefit from underfloor insulation – This should be checked with your accredited Thermal Performance Assessor.