Passive design is an approach to building that does requires no mechanical heating or cooling. Brisbane homes that are passively designed, take advantage of Queensland’s natural climate to maintain thermal comfort.
Incorporating the principles of passive design in your home:
The building envelope is a term used to describe the roof, walls, windows, floors and internal walls of a home. The envelope controls heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter.
Its performance in modifying or filtering climatic extremes is greatly improved by passive design.
Well designed envelopes maximize cooling air movement and exclude sun in summer. In winter, they trap and store heat from the sun and minimize heat loss to the external environment.
The fundamental principles of passive design, explained above are relatively simple and apply to the various climate zones, house types and commercial construction systems in Australia.
Passive Design is good for the environment and people, what is good for people (example: natural light, clean air) is also good for plants.
The Queensland Government has a great website on sustainable design for housing.
