Temperate Climate

The temperate climate has mild to warm summers and cool winters. The need for winter home heating is greater than the need for summer cooling. It is a relatively comfortable climate, especially near the coast, where summers are cooler and winters warmer than further inland. In the mountains of the Great Dividing Range, winters are cold and summers are pleasantly mild.

Design aims

To warm the house in winter and keep it cool in summer.

The building block

• 1. Does it have access to the winter sun?
     This is really important! Avoid blocks which will be overshadowed in winter by obstructions north of the house site.
     To get information on solar elevation at noon on the shortest day of the year check the AUSLIG web site (http://www.auslig.gov.au/geodesy/astro/smpos.htm) or contact the State Museum or Observatory in your capital city.
     Some useful telephone numbers are: - Western Australia - the Perth Astronomical Observatory, Bickley, on (09) 293 8255 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
     Victoria contact the Planetarium at the Victorian State Museum (03) 9669-9942 Tasmania - the Planetarium at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery at Launceston (003) 31 6777
     CSIRO bookshops also have a useful publication, SUNSHINE AND SHADE IN AUSTRALIA. http://www.publish.csiro.au/books/detail.cfm
  2. Do the block‘s long sides run east-west?
     This is an advantage, but not essential

Your house

• Windows
  1. Does it have lots of glass which faces north?
  2. Do the windows/other glass have eaves or other shading designed to admit the sun‘s heat in winter, but not in summer?
     
     
• Heat Storage
  1. Can your house store heat internally, using bricks and concrete to absorb heat during the day and re-radiate it at night?
     
     Heat Storage Capacity - Bricks, stone and concrete are effective heat storing materials. They need to interact with the house‘s internal environment. For example, a concrete slab will absorb and store the sun‘s heat during the day, if it‘s covered with slate, hard vinyl or ceramic tiles. When the sun sets, the slab is still warm, so your house keeps a pleasantly even temperature around the clock. Carpet and cork will limit this effectiveness because they insulate the concrete slab from absorbing the heat coming in through the windows.
     Double brick walls or internal brick walls will also act as heat stores. Brick veneer walls cannot act as internal heat stores, as the bricks are on the outside of the house and lose most of their heat back to the atmosphere.
• Insulation
  1. Does your house have insulation for walls and ceiling?
     
     The type and amount required varies with the climate - contact the Energy Information Centre in your state for details. In cooler climates (along the Great Dividing Range and most of Tasmania) it‘s cost-effective to insulate timber floors and provide edge-insulation for concrete slabs.
     Insulation comes in two types: -
     1. Bulk insulation - for example, pink batts. This insulation has a high resistance to the flow of heat by conduction. It is useful in heated or air-conditioned houses, to keep the heat in (or out, as the case may be). The colder the winter where you live, the more you need.
     2. Reflective foil insulation - for example, Sisalation.
     This is a laminated sheet, one side of which is silvery. It resists the flow of heat by radiation. It is wonderful in the roof and walls in hot, sunny climate.
     
     
• Circulation
  Have you draught-proofed your house by:
  1. adding weather-strips to the lower edge of external doors and the toilet door?
  2. hanging curtains which touch the windowsill or the floor?
  3. filling up gaps round plumbing pipes, windows, etc.?
  4. installing a damper or tight-fitting cover in fireplaces?

The Garden

• 1. Do you have plants which shade your east and west walls in summer?
     
     Deciduous trees or vines will allow partial access to the winter sun and shade in summer. Dense evergreens can provide shelter from cold winter wind