PASSIVE SOLAR
Another advantage of a round house is that it is easier to orient the windows to face south and south west. Our main living space is open plan and covers the arc from SSE to NW. This will have a dark slate floor over an insulated concrete slab to absorb solar radiation directly.
Our sunspace has a solar wall on the south facing (north side) elevation which will store heat to be circulated into the main living space in the evenings.
We hope to even out the temperature in the house and that the high thermal mass will provide us with a buffer on very hot summer days but still provide adequate heating for most of the year.
roundhouse features
We made this model to see how we could make the living space work for us. The main features here are the solar space, porch to give us a boot space and airlock into the house, long curved kitchen worktop in an open plan living room. There is a small upstairs space and gallery.
A lot of details have been changed but the design principles kept as the house has crystallised
OVERHANGING EAVES
To link internal space with the outside some facets have overhanging eaves which shade us from the hottest summer days (and rain ) and give us a sheltered sitting out area to watch the changing skies, moods of the sea and ships going by - as long as it is not still and humid in which case it will be too midgy. These areas are linked by sliding doors with the open plan living spaces
THE MYSTERIES OF ENERGY RATINGS
Our own energy audit show we will provide 50% of our winter heating from passive solar gain and supply the rest from two trailer loads of logs. This means we are effectively zero carbon for space heating. We’re also having solar water so even the water heating requirements will be 65-75% met from the sun. Strangely enough our SAP rating (UK energy performance modelling for Building Regulations) shows our house as less eco-friendly than a bog standard just meets the energy specifications build with a few bells and whisltes.