Home Architecture Talk
Architecture/Energy: keeping a building cool in warm climates (carribean)?
where you need to keep the building cool and minimise energy use through aircon, should you design insulation to the outside of the mass concrete wall or inside?
Public Comments
- You'll probably say my answer is absolutely useless but I'd say both - create shade around the exterior by planting trees, climbers etc., line interior walls with the best insulation available, keep windows shaded from the sun, and open at least 2 windows to create a thru-breeze / draught.
- you should have air vents in the roof to release hot air, and have windows open on both sides of the building in the direction of the prevailing winds so that the wind can circulate the air inside the building. having tree canopy around the building will help cool the air around you too. having part of the structure underground, or digging tubes deep under ground and circulating the air of the house will help moderate the temperature to be closer the cool underground temperature. just make sure there is no radon problem. i dont know about insulation, if the building is air tight then it will be stuffy and hot.
- You'll want to utilize overhangs as sun control (shading) devices. Doing this requires knowledge of sun angles; but you can do on site experiments to basically figure out what you need too. You'll also want operable windows in order to allow natural breeze to circulate the old air out of the house. There are actually ways you can design the location of windows to keep the air moving. "Reflective Insulation Systems Reflective insulation systems are fabricated from aluminum foils with a variety of backings such as roof sheathing, kraft paper, plastic film, polyethylene bubbles, or cardboard. These systems are not recommended for cold and very cold climates. If a single reflective surface is used alone and faces an open space, such as an attic, it is called a radiant barrier. Radiant barriers are also not recommended for cold and very cold climates."
