Green Start Consulting

I thought it might be a good idea to ask our resident energy assessor Don what his top 10 tips for energy efficiency house design were. Don has been dealing with energy efficient designs for a long time now, so he knows what works. Here they are, his top 10 tips.


1. Keep the plan simple - too many passageways and a large entry are dead areas that burn up the artificial heating and cooling inside the home, making the bills bigger.

2. Over insulate the ceiling to maintain a constant temperature within. This traps the suns heat in summer and keeps the warmth in during winter.

3. Windows to the East/West should be kept to a minimum - if they are needed use highlights under eaves.

4. Draft proof all external doors and windows. By not allowing leakage either in or out this will reduce the amount of artificial heating and cooling needed.

5. Eaves - put them on your house. By having longer eaves to the East/West keeps solar gain off of the walls and windows for longer. Having an appropriate sized eave to the North will allow winter sun in (as the sun sits lower during winter) and keep it out during summer.

6. Double brick cavity wall insulation works the same for walls as ceiling insulation does.

7. Orientation - keep East/West walls smaller than North/South walls and position living areas to the North.

8. Keep an open mind on external wall & roof colours as these can play an important role in regulating the amount of heat radiating to within.

9. Use external awnings, especially to the North as they can be closed to prevent the heat from the summer sun and opened to allow in the winter sun.

10. Internal window treatments also play a big part in regulating the amount of heat gain through a window.

And as a special request by one of our clients who is having us draft up a house at the moment:

11. 70% of the heat that comes through a window or slider comes through the frame, so by using a material that minimises this heat transfer will prevent rooms heating up (EG: UPVC, timber framed windows with a treated glazing can drastically reduce the internal temperature fluctuations which also helps reduce the heating & cooling bills.

If you would like more info please feel free to contact us. We have a load of experienced people here to help your house rate well. We can help with your design and drafting; get you a star rating you desire and then issue a certificate of design compliance.



Click HERE to email our draftsperson, energy assessor or building surveyor if you have any questions about the process or would like to discuss your project.


Thanks for reading.


Author Green Start Consulting - Building Surveyor