Orientation

From Sustainable Building Resource

[edit] Orientation and the use of solar gain

The way that a a building is orientated can have a large effect on its thermal characteristics. In the northern hemisphere we can ensure that the building has a larger southern aspect thus allowing more light and heat to enter and hit the building. This can help to heat the building through out the year, however care must be taken to ensure that overheating does not occur during the summer months.

The orientation can also reduce the chill factor if wind. Most of the prevailing winds in the UK are westerlies, so by reducing the area buffeted by the winds, this can also reduce heat loss.

Shading from both sun and wind can be achieved by intelligent planting as well as structural considerations.

[edit] Design for direct or indirect solar gain.

'Direct Solar Gain’ is the heating of a space using the sun’s energy directly through windows in the building envelope, heat is stored in the thermal mass during the day and later released during the night into the living space. This is the most effective form of passive solar gain in UK climate. ‘Indirect Solar Gain’ systems operate by transferring solar energy through conduction (thermal mass walls) or convection (sunspaces) from the outside of the envelope to the heated space

Your experiences using orientation to maximise solar gain and / or minimise heat loss through wind would great to read:

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