Magicdirt Posted December 11, 2010 I live in house that seems to have been designed to hold the maximum heat in summer and on hot days it is like an oven. With energy costs sky rocketing I'm a bit hesitant to install an A/C system and I'm a bit of tight arse so I can't see the value in it. So I've been looking into ways to cool the place without spending much money. One Idea that I've been considering is to evacuate the heat in the roof cavity with a roof exhaust fan. That would cut a few degrees by slowing the ingress of radiant heat, but it would not provide much in the way of cooling. A whole house fan can work reasonably well at night or in combination with swamp coolers or thermal exchange systems such as earth tubes etc. Anyway I found a cool site that combines many different strategies from various sources to cool a house or a greenhouse efficiently. Someone could use some of the links on the site so here it is. Passive cooling techniques If I was building a house from scratch there's no way I'd be going for an off the plan design, but for now I'll have to make the best of what I have. If anyone's got any ideas I'm all ears. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bongchitis Posted December 11, 2010 I haven't cruised the link yet so sorry if its repeated or seems stupid. No A/C here either, all I can do is open the windows... all of them, in the cooler arvo conditions. Air flow is key, we humans have an inbuilt cooling system! Prior to that, during the heat I shut up shop and draw the blinds to stop the heat getting in in the 1st place. Whirlybirds are tops. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lickapop Posted December 11, 2010 (edited) We just had a place built and our electricity bill went from about $800 a quarter down to $200. Most of that was running air-conditioning for 8mths of the year because the place was not screened and it was a case of getting eaten alive by mozzies or cook inside with all the windows shut This new place we screened, lots of louvers for cross ventilation , heaps of insulation in roof and walls and polished concrete floors because believe it or not carpet makes a house hot or at least it feels hot We have just started running the A/C only for a couple of hours in the hottest most humid days. Our last 2 power bills have been around $200:) Edited December 11, 2010 by lickapop Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shortly Posted December 11, 2010 I once met a guy who had shadecloth stretched over his roof on wire, all held at about 15" off the roof with stacks of concreters chairs. He also ran a recirculating solar irrigation system of sprinklers on the roof but under the shade cloth. It was the coolest spot in the district, dunno how long his tin roof would hold up to his bore water though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted December 11, 2010 yeah i'm lazy and haven't clicked on the link above either - soz if I repeat whats already said there... At our place here I'm aiming for shadehouse at the back, (south) incl water storage there and glasshouse at the front, (north) using the air flw between the two to cool - similar principle to how a gas fridge can produce cold from a hot flame that with a few other things such as deciduous trees on the north and western sides, vines on the south and north etc... oh and of course insulation in the roof and floor. uh huh - that should take me the next five years at least lolz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WoodDragon Posted December 14, 2010 As a past Hunter Valley dude myself I am well familiar with the summers there, and especially on visits to Wollombi! My tongue-in-cheek suggestion - move south! Good link though MD. I'll have a more thorough browse through it tomorrow and see if there's anything I've heard of that might not have been mentioned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
synchromesh Posted December 29, 2010 http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=25783&st=0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
santiago Posted December 29, 2010 (edited) for an ethno forum with a great dearth of information revolving around plants my first guess would be the intelligent placement of trees and shrubs to limit the sunlight entering the house. also the colour of the house itself, eg white/creme brick with silver tin roof may reflect the heat many many times better than a red brick, brown tile roof house.......and the direction in which the house faces primarily. Edited December 29, 2010 by santiago Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.dg Posted December 29, 2010 if its a dry heat (low rh) a swamp cooler uses about 1/4 the power as an ac, and can be effective whole house coolers if used properly. be sure the swamp cooler(or evaporative cooler) is fed with cool water, and is in the shade Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
