orientation buildings

7/23/2019 Orientation Buildings

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Orientation Buildings

Orientation of building is to design building in such a way as it receives

maximum ventilation and natural light in all climatic conditions. It

provides comfortable living conditions inside the house/building and saves

energy bills also. The orientation can defend undesirable eects of worse

weather. While planning to build a new house, as your architect to design

building in such a way that energy loss is minimum.

Climatic Implication

Orientation of building determines the amount of radiation the building

receives. The orientation with respect to air patterns aects the amount of

natural ventilation as much as possible.

Benefts o building orientation

Energy saving

Orientation of building is energy ecient approach as the building

orientation saves heating, cooling and lighting cost. !ou can tae optimal

bene"ts of the sun by ma#imi$ing southern e#posure. It lowers cooling cost

by minimi$ing western e#posure where it is most di%cult to provide

sunshade.

Breeze!atural "ir

Orientation of building provides bree$e is in warm and humid climates. On the

other hand, the orientation prevents hot winds in hot and dry climates.

!atural ventilation

Building orientation provides natural ventilation and light which is bene"cial

to the health of inhabitants of the house.

#actors "$ecting Building %rientation

&. 'olar radiation and temperature

The intensity of solar radiation depends on the direction of sunrays. The

temperature of a structure and living space increases due to sun radiation

and aects environment of the house. &olar radiation acts in two ways.

&unrays directly come to the house through openings



'adiation comes indirectly through walls and roof of building by absorbing

heat.

(or comfortable living particularly during summer season, radiation(

temperature and treatment o room are considered. (rom solar

radiation point of view, the best orientation is that which receives ma#imumsolar radiation during winter and receives minimum solar radiation during

summer season.

The 'outh a)ade has advantage o receiving more solar radiation

during winter than that of receiving during summer. )ven for openings on

south facade, small overhang such as curtains can cut o direct solar

penetration during summer and allows it during winter. Obviously, this is

most bene"cial aspect, not available on any other fa*ade.

*ow to minimize solar heat in south a)ade+

In fact the incidence of ground re+ected radiation on human body from

southern sun in south facade causes great thermal discomfort and visual

glare. In northern India the &outh wall of a building or house receives least

solar radiation during summer. To minimi$e re+ected solar heat, grassy lawns

should be developed in front of south fa*ade.

*ow to minimize solar radiation in western a)ade+

The eastern and western fa*ade receive nearly eual amounts of daily solar

radiation throughout the year. The only dierence is when the sun shines on

eastern fa*ade, the building or house is comparatively cool and air

temperature is low. On the other hand due to higher air temperature in

afternoon, the heat +ows indoor through western fa*ade. To minimi$e the

aect of solar radiation in western fa*ade, the sunshade on openings should

be constructed.

,. Clouds and -ains

-louds and rains have comparatively less importance in orientation of

building. The areas with low clouds cover sy largely and determine the eect

of both incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial radiation. la$ing

and opening should be designed eeping in view the direction of rain, beating

the building because the direction of rain is generally same as that of

prevailing wind e#pect in case of storms. If due to architectural view gla$ing

is provided, it should be covered by proper sunshade etc. The walls of lesser

thicness should not be designed in the direction of heavy rains.



. *umidity

It depends on weather condition of the area and has little role in orientation

of building. The movement of air and use of prevailing wind are very

important during periods of high humidity. umidity can be classi"ed into four

categories i.e.

/ery dry

0ry

*umid

/ery humid

When humidity is low, dry or very dry, it is easy to tae advantage of

evaporative cooling in summer. When it is humid or very humid it is desirable

to regulate the rate of air movement either arti"cially with aid of electric fanor with help of prevailing winds.

1. *umidity design consideration

The comfort in relation to humidity becomes comple#. In humid environment

there is very warm feeling when there is no bree$e and air temperature is 01

1-. On the other hand if humidity is low, one may feel cool even if the

temperature rises up to 02 1- with little bree$e. It will be cooler at the same

temperature if there is reduction in relative humidity. 3nd if there is bree$e in

high humidity area, the building should be designed in such a way as it has

more natural air and ventilation.

2. 3revailing winds

4revailing winds help create natural ventilation in a building and give more

comfort during high humidity. 5uring orientation of a building and designing

doors and windows openings, the direction of wind +ow should be considered.

(i# windows and ventilators at proper location in building to provide

ma#imum air and light. The height of windows has much concern about

ventilation. 6a#imum air and ventilation can be obtained if the level of

opening is at the level of occupancy.

In case you did not nown this fact 7 the &un rises in the )ast and sets in the

West, no matter where you are in the world. ere8s another fact 7 the &un is

higher in the &ummer sy and lower in the Winter sy. &o what does this have

to do with correct building orientation9

4sing the 'un to your advantage when you orientate your building



The fact the sun is lower in the sy in Winter than in &ummer allows us to

plan and construct buildings that capture that free heat in Winter and re:ect

the heat in &ummer. The orientation of the whole building plays an important

part in ensuring such a 8passive8 process wors. &ee the diagram below.

Ideal house orientation

The ideal house orientation is that the main long a#is of the building runs

)ast7West, i.e the ridge line. !ou can move this by as much as 21 degrees

without ill eect, but the most glass on the building must be facing towards

the sun. When deciding the building orientation also tae into account the

location of landscape features on your plot , i.e. trees and walls, etc which will

impact on how you harness the sun. Ideally you do not want them blocing

the sun light as the sun tracs across the sy. 'olar orientation is di$erent

to magnetic orientation

It is very important that you remember to orientate your house with respectto the &un and not to magnetic ;orth <or &outh=, see the diagram below.

3pparent magnetic ;orth can be very dierent to where &olar ;orth is <up to

21 degrees=, this can mae all the dierence between a passive solar design

being viable or not. !our local council should be able to give you details of

what the oset should be as this varies from place to place. 5iving "rea

placement

3lso of importance is that the rooms most used must be on the side of the

house orientated towards the sun, i.e. the itchen, lounge, etc. 3lso put the

least used rooms on the side of the house in shade, i.e. garage, laundry>these will also act as additional thermal mass, if properly insulated.

0esign your house or the whole year

&ince you live in your home through &ummer and Winter, you should design it

for the entire year. It is important to be comfortable all year long and not :ust

for a single season. &ometimes, solar homes are built with large areas of

upward, tilted, south7facing glass, designed to catch every bit of sun, Winter

or &ummer. While tilted glass does ma#imi$e heat gain during the winter

months, it also ma#imi$es that same heat gain during the summer. If you

understand that the rays of sun8s high &ummer arc will bounce o vertical,

south7facing glass and reduce heat gain, you can let nature do the wor for

you in a passively designed home,



Ideal house orientation

The ideal house orientation is that the main long a#is of the building runs

)ast7West, i.e the ridge line. !ou can move this by as much as 21 degrees

without ill eect, but the most glass on the building must be facing towards

the sun. When deciding the building orientation also tae into account the

location of landscape features on your plot , i.e. trees and walls, etc which will

impact on how you harness the sun. Ideally you do not want them blocing

the sun light as the sun tracs across the sy.

'olar orientation is di$erent to magnetic orientation

It is very important that you remember to orientate your house with respect

to the &un and not to magnetic ;orth <or &outh=, see the diagram below.



3pparent magnetic ;orth can be very dierent to where &olar ;orth is <up to

21 degrees=, this can mae all the dierence between a passive solar designbeing viable or not. !our local council should be able to give you details of

what the oset should be as this varies from place to place.

5iving "rea placement

3lso of importance is that the rooms most used must be on the side of the

house orientated towards the sun, i.e. the itchen, lounge, etc. 3lso put the

least used rooms on the side of the house in shade, i.e. garage, laundry>

these will also act as additional thermal mass, if properly insulated.

0esign your house or the whole year

&ince you live in your home through &ummer and Winter, you should design it

for the entire year. It is important to be comfortable all year long and not :ust

for a single season. &ometimes, solar homes are built with large areas of

upward, tilted, south7facing glass, designed to catch every bit of sun, Winter

or &ummer. While tilted glass does ma#imi$e heat gain during the winter

months, it also ma#imi$es that same heat gain during the summer. If you

understand that the rays of sun8s high &ummer arc will bounce o vertical,

south7facing glass and reduce heat gain, you can let nature do the wor for

you in a passively designed home,

orientation buildings

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