Micro climate

The micro climate is the variations in localised climate around a building.

The microclimate has a very important impact on both the energy and environmental performance of a building.

An ideal site for the designing an energy efficient home would be one that has full solar access and protection from the harsh elements of nature.


What affects a building's micro climate?

  • Orientation of building
  • Location of neighbouring objects
  • Surrounding landscape

The micro climate can also determine the shape of the building and how it sits on the site and the locations of your rooms with in the building.

Zones
The zoning and orientation of the building can have a strong impact on the energy consumption pattern.
Below shows a diagram of the zones in the base case

Here the living space is situated on the north side of the building, gaining diffuse north light.  However, the building loses more heat on the north facade than it does in any other facade.  It is also the area where the occupants spend most of their non-sleeping hours.

The Bedrooms are located on the south side of the building where there is more direct sunlight penetrating on the walls and through windows heating and lighting the rooms during the day.

Kitchen and toilet facilities are found on the west side of the building, where they advantage evening sunlight.

For an ideal site, you would want to maximize solar access to the south facade as solar energy is greatest and more intense from the south. 

Trees can provide shading over the summer when solar energy is too intense.

Shading from other buildings are not so encouraged as this is more likely provide permanent shading all year round.

Why shape is important in low energy building design?
Shape can have a strong influence on energy consumption performances.

  • Solar gain

  • Savings on energy consumption
  • Integration of technology
  • Pressure Distribution
  • Wind patterns
  For instance, it can determine the amount of solar radiation falling onto the external surface area.  This in return can increase savings on energy, for example, heating and lighting.  The form of the building should take into account the integration of technology, to maximise efficiency.  Other affected factors are pressure distribution throughout the building and wind patterns etc

We have opted for a quarter of a sphere shape because it has less surface area than a  cubiod of the same volume, hence there will be less heat loss by conduction through walls and roof.  The curved south facing facade compliments the sun's path allowing a variety of optimum angles as the sun rises and sets.  This allows us to integrate the solar technology onto the building structure.

The zoning of the rooms are located so that most rooms have an advantage of the south facing facade.  This allows most rooms to be heated by solar energy and lit naturally during hours of sunlight. 

The zoning relates to a typical occupancy pattern and sun's position at different times of the day.  This allows in coordination with appropriate time lags for us to utilise solar radiation when needed. 

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