Passive design harnesses your local climate to naturally maintain a comfortable temperature in your home. This innovative approach uses smart design principles to minimise or even eliminate the need for additional heating and cooling.

It treats your home as a living system, encouraging you to actively participate in its climate control. By opening and closing shades and windows strategically throughout the year, you can take advantage of the suns warmth and cooling breezes, working in harmony with nature to create a comfortable living environment.

Elements contribute to passive design.

Passive heating utilises the sun’s natural warmth to your benefit. It relies on smart design choices that maximise winter solar gain. This approach starts with orientating your home to capture optimal winter sunlight. Properly sized eaves work in concert with this orientation, allowing winter sun in, while blocking harsh summer rays.

Strategic placement and sizing of windows and doors further enhance this effect, acting as entry points for warming sunlight.

When these elements are well-designed, they create an efficient system that channels the suns heat within your home. The result is a naturally warmer living space during cold seasons, reducing reliance on artificial heating.

Passive cooling in building design revolves around three key principles: minimising daytime heat gain, maximising nighttime heat loss, and facilitating the entry of cool breezes for cross-flow ventilation.

To minimise heat gain, we employ strategies such as correctly sized and positioned eaves, high-quality insulation, proper shading, and effective sealing. Heat loss is promoted through the enhancement of natural air movement throughout the building. In Adelaide, for example, this involves capturing the morning or evening south-westerly breezes to create natural airflow, maintaining interior comfort without relying on mechanical systems.

Convective ventilation is maximised through the thoughtful placement of high-level windows and the incorporation of ceiling or roof space vents. This approach adapts to the rhythms of the local climate, creating more sustainable and comfortable living spaces.

By integrating these passive cooling techniques, buildings can effectively regulate temperature, reduce energy consumption, and provide a more pleasant indoor environment.

Orientation is crucial in passive design, referring to a buildings position relative to the suns path and prevailing winds. In Australia, north-facing rooms receive the most sunlight during winter and can be easily shaded in summer, making them ideal for living areas.

Before designing your home, we’ll gather information on your sites geographical features and existing infrastructure. This includes understanding how east- and west-facing walls receive more sun in summer mornings and afternoons, while north-facing walls get more solar radiation in winter due to the suns lower position.

Our designers will work to optimise your homes orientation regardless of your blocks layout. We’ll consider how to best position living and sleeping areas to either harness or protect from sun and wind effects. Your buildings design and treatment of north-facing walls and roofline will determine its solar access.

By tailoring the design to your specific location, we can create a home that takes full advantage of natural elements, enhancing comfort and energy efficiency.

Orientation is crucial in passive design, referring to a buildings position relative to the suns path and prevailing winds. In Australia, north-facing rooms receive the most sunlight during winter and can be easily shaded in summer, making them ideal for living areas.

Before designing your home, we’ll gather information on your sites geographical features and existing infrastructure. This includes understanding how east- and west-facing walls receive more sun in summer mornings and afternoons, while north-facing walls get more solar radiation in winter due to the suns lower position.

Our designers will work to optimise your homes orientation regardless of your blocks layout. We’ll consider how to best position living and sleeping areas to either harness or protect from sun and wind effects. Your buildings design and treatment of north-facing walls and roofline will determine its solar access.

By tailoring the design to your specific location, we can create a home that takes full advantage of natural elements, enhancing comfort and energy efficiency.

Properly installed insulation is an integral part of an energy-efficient home. Insulation acts as a barrier for your home, stopping heat from entering or escaping.

There are three main types of insulation: bulk insulation, which uses air pockets to slow conductive and convective heat flow; reflective insulation, which reflects radiant heat back to its source; and composite insulation, which combines bulk and reflective properties.

In our AGH homes, we’ve implemented comprehensive insulation strategies. External walls feature a 140mm stud frame, allowing for increased R4.0 insulation. Internal walls have R1.5, floors R4.0, and roof R4.0 (for two-storey homes), while ceiling spaces are insulated to R6.0. We also use a reflective blanket under our roofing iron for additional heat protection.

Installation is carefully monitored to ensure no gaps, with foam used in difficult areas. This attention to detail is critical, as proper insulation installation prevents unwanted heat transfer and maximises energy efficiency.

Windows play a crucial role in your homes thermal performance, so we’ve included high-quality double-glazed windows in our standard specification.

Up to 40% of heating energy can be lost and up to 87% of heat gained through poorly insulated windows. By strategically placing double-glazed windows in your home, you can maximise heat gain in winter and minimise heat loss compared to lower-performing windows.