buildling construction to maximise natural cooling

jrhartley

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has anyone any ideas or favourite sites that give ideas about how to maximise the cooling of buildings - for a small bungalow,Ive found only two useful sites so far- I have a feeling most of the heat is generated froom the roof construction on new houses
 

Chirimoya

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Open windows to allow cross-breezes, awnings, a 'galeria', lots of greenery and shady trees around the house.

I can think of a couple of architects who should read this thread.
 

J D Sauser

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The breeze is the #1 "fee" AC

  • Build high. Keep all your rooms (also on the ground floor) as hight as possible. If you don't like the looks of it in small rooms, hide it with a louver type hanging ceiling. Have hot air escapes on the ground floor too.
  • Elevate the "ground" floor, so you may use cool air from underneath (vented) and also limit humidity in your floor and walls (which 90% of homes in the DR have plenty of).
  • Have hot air outlets in the roof, so the breeze can pull thru, yet it won't rain into the house and safety is still guaranteed (tigueres are good climbers, just ask yourself why tower buildings in the main cities will have protective bars on windows and balconies up to the 8th floor or higher).
  • Build on a breezy location, but keep in mind yearly hurricanes.
  • See that the homes layout and orientation exposes important rooms to the most breeze access.
  • Work on the details, eliminate common domestic source of heat: Try to have the back of your fridge face an "open" wall (maybe to the "open" washing room) so it will not heat your kitchen. Prepare your home's layout so you can have solar water heaters on the roof, then electrical water heaters, besides wasting costly electrical energy, do contribute to keeping you home "warm". Use incandescent lightning, most of it's energy savings come out of them NOT generating heat. IF you plan to add AC units for select room, PLAN ahead for them so the compressor unit is located in such a way that the heat it extracts can not be pushed back into the home thru a window... AC compressors in a patio is a sure fire method to heating your ground floor!
Obviously, there is much more.

... J-D.
 

heldengebroed

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With a solar chimeny and freecooling
If you change the volume of air of your house 4 to 8 times when the temperature outside is lower than inside you cool the masse of yuor house (eg bricks, blocks concrete, floor) and thus doing so yu can lower the temperature inside with 4 to 5? C

Greetings

Johan
 

J D Sauser

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Air chimneys can be a great idea when one can find a safe way for them to supply the home with quality cool air.
However, one of the problems typically encountered with air chimneys and pulling cool air from underground piping, is condensation and eventually allergies, mold and foul odors.
So, research very carefully and try to implement a successful system.

... J-D.
 

jrhartley

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thanks for the suggestions so far - I can emit my own foul odours I dont need more lol
 

J D Sauser

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found another good one herePassive Cooling Techniques

are white roof tiles available here or do they need to be painted - not sure I want to paint them


Haven't seen any, neither installed or for sale, but I haven't seen it all yet.

What seems to be common practice thou, is to finish (stucco) a concrete roof off with a "stepped" layer of stucco, then (optionally) cover it with tar sheets (from rolls) and paint the finished product in white.
I think that the positive effect of the white "tiles" or painting, may be less than what it would be in the States. As here, we mostly have poured concrete roofs, where in the States one would only find a plywood covered truss structures with tiles. Obviously, the tiles color will affect interior temperatures less when laying on a 5" thick concrete roof.

... J-D.
 

jrhartley

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what are the common mistakes for building here regarding heating and cooling .what would be the biggest factor that goes towards heating up of an area-(dont say the sun lol)
 

Chirimoya

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Putting style before functionality: too many windows in the wrong places, or too few windows, no ventilation, low ceilings.

Some Dominican architects (Selman, Imbert) do outstanding work designing houses and apartments that make the most of the climate - ventilation, light/shade etc.

Too many others design as if they were in a cold country, assuming and forcing reliance on artificial cooling. One place I know of is even expecting people to live in sealed rooms with windows that can't open. Presumably in anticipation of chemical warfare.:paranoid:
 

jrhartley

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i dont understand these windows that only open half way(what is the point lol)- im toying with the idea of having no glass in some windows just bars netting and shutters..... also has anyone seen internal doors with ventillation at the bottom here ...like a quarter louvred at the bottom



I thought there would have been more tips forthcoming from people who have tried various methods
 

J D Sauser

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what are the common mistakes for building here regarding heating and cooling .what would be the biggest factor that goes towards heating up of an area-(dont say the sun lol)

Well Jr, this is a one thread I particularly enjoy! Thanks for bringing it up!

IMHO, the most common mistakes, errors or failures I seem to observe in this country is the wide spread disregard for the laws of physics and the necessities based on this country's practices and costumes... short, lack of planing for the inevitable:

Physics: In a land where water and thus humidity is abundant, today's builders, architects and engineers surprise with their blatant indisposition to accept lessons taught by history: Two typical examples would be, that old houses, where ever economically possible were featuring HIGH ceilings and venting as well being built elevated from the ground. The later practice has not only been lost but they absolutely refuse to apply humidity barriers separating the ground and foundations from the ground floor... resulting in humid slabs and walls one can find in most any newer Dominican house, where tiles go loose and paint chips off the walls for the life time of the home. Humid walls MAY seem cool, but they humidity clogs up the pores and hinders the home's "breathing"... it's also a health issue, as mold and allergies are most inevitable in such an environment.

History: We are witnessing a complete loss of what would be the foundations of evolution; learning from previous experiences. I have been sorry to see this not only here but in many Latin American countries where new architectural teachings have migrated towards emulating designs from countries with completely different climatic situations, like the US and central Europe. If you look at the older Victorian as as well as some of the "Hacienda"-style buildings still around, you will most always find a combination of the following three ingredients:

  1. High vented ceilings.
  2. Ground floor raised off the ground.
  3. Porches producing not only a nice place to laze away, but SHADE and thus cooler air breathing into the home thru large windows and doorways.
New technologies and teachings: Since concrete block construction has become so popular, we need also to look at the some issues and necessary developments needed when using this material. In Southern Spain it has since the late '80's become illegal to build a CBS home without building a thin (usually brick) inner wall parallel to exterior wall, leaving about a two inch empty or insulated space between the two. The reason is, insulation is not only important in cold countries, but in hot countries to. Humidity again, is not only a messenger but a transporter of adverse exterior temperatures to the interior of a home.

Planning ahead for things needed in each particular country: One thing which still keeps me amazed after almost two years of living and investigating here, is builders', architects' and engineers' and even owner' resistance to plan for things and technologies which most inevitably WILL be needed.... among so many things but as a most typical example; a planned for, esthetically favoring and technically correct location for a Tinaco (large, black, ugly plastic tank to keep water a healthy reserve of water at a sufficient altitude, so at least part of the home will have some running water when there is no electrical power to generate the pressure needed to pump it up from the underground reservoir.). You can see barrio homes as well as multi USD 100K "villas", soon find themselfes decorated with that thing and the whole architectural charm being decimated to yet another failed design. One can and must have a well located Tinaco but most not really have everybody have to appreciate it's utterly questionable "beauty".
Same thing with the possible addition of AC units. I have NEVER seen a home built which would forsee an inteligent un not unsighty location for the compressor units (which extract heat from the interior, generate additional heat, all which should be handed over to the environment in a way so I won't get blown right back into the home). AC units are NOT pretty and their location has to be well thought out.
Cominig back to the initial subject of energy saving and minimizing heat generation inside the home, I may again suggest looking closely (planning for) an intelligent location for things like fridges and freezers and making sure the dryer does not heat and fog up the patio's air which is supposed to supply the ground floor rooms with shade cooled air.

So again, the biggest mistakes?

  • Not learning from positive things history teaches us.
  • Disregard for the unbendable laws of physics, instead of USING them to ones advantage.
  • Failing to break out of false "traditions" and not apply new knowledge when using new marterials.
  • Not investing sufficient time and not asking enough "well but, what if...?" questions before messing around with blocks and mortar.

... J-D.
 
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J D Sauser

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thank you - a very interesting read

Well, I enjoyed finding out, we could have common interests too, JR ;).
If and when I build here (for me), I intend to do just that, a home which is comfortable, good looking and energy efficient if not independent.
If you care too, someday we can certainly look at your plans together.

... J-D.
 

GardenCraft

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Has anyone mentioned 'double-brick construction' as a passive cooling system? It's like double-glazing the whole house.
We have single brick with a concrete roof sans ventilation here in S-D and it is a very efficient oven.
 

The Virginian

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Great thread. I am in need of GOOD windows. What I mean by good is simply a good fit, water tight and sound proof would be nice as well. But at least a good fit. If its raining or loud noise outside and I close the window, it makes absolutely no difference. I have to close the blinds so the rain hits it and drops to the floor rather then it entering the room. This is not an expensive house but I know there are better windows out there. I live in POP and found a window place downtown. They send someone out to measure then send the measurements to Santiago and you wait for the windows. I would like to find a place here in POP or North Coast that makes them so I can see the construction and know they are good windows and will fit properly. thanks Phil
 

J D Sauser

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Has anyone mentioned 'double-brick construction' as a passive cooling system? It's like double-glazing the whole house.
We have single brick with a concrete roof sans ventilation here in S-D and it is a very efficient oven.


... building a thin (usually brick) inner wall parallel to exterior wall, leaving about a two inch empty or insulated space between the two. The reason is, insulation is not only important in cold countries, but in hot countries to. Humidity again, is not only a messenger but a transporter of adverse exterior temperatures to the interior of a home....

Roofs on most "villa" style homes in the DR generally being concrete and tiled on top, already provide for an insulating space between the two.
Yet, putting the tiles on an aluminum frame on top of the concrete would allow for even more air.

Windows.... is also a much overlooked subject, especially since, as far as technology goes, we here are mostly looking towards the US... a country were double glazing is a concept which is only being discovered now, whilst it has been the practice for over 20 years in central Europe.
Again, what is good for insulating against the cold, should be considered for insulating against heat.
Well made windows (to the correct size) are nice, but then, when the installer has no clue, no proper training nor the right tools and materials to do the job right, they sadly won't make much difference.
Another thing with windows again is, that SHADE provided for on top of them, will hinder the sun from warming up the room and also limit weathering.

... J-D.