Hello everyone,
I could use a bit of advice or some help thinking this through.
We are currently planning a new build, and the floor plan, building permit / planning permission, etc. are all finalized. We could start immediately if it weren’t for an expensive showstopper raised by the energy consultant.
Due to a slope in the terrain, our living/dining area and the adjoining semi-open kitchen are situated lower. The ceiling height is about 3.8m (12.5 ft). The windows facing the garden are two 3x3m (10x10 ft) ones to the west, plus a large corner window to the east. Now, we are being told that all windows in this critical room require external shutters. Improving the Ug/Uw rating of the windows wouldn’t change this. The window-to-room ratio is about 40%. The fact is: this is not affordable.
Current suggestion: no windows, only a glass door with a transom window above. This means we would no longer be able to look out onto our garden, which is absolutely not acceptable for us.
The consultant is therefore denying the necessary summer heat protection. If it’s only about this critical room—what else can be done?
1) We have a ventilation system installed, with enhanced night ventilation considered. It’s unclear whether heat recovery is included.
2) District heating or air-to-water heat pump.
Are there models that could integrate an affordable air conditioning system just for 2 rooms? That way, we would have a solution for about 15 to 20 days per year. Does anyone have an idea how the cost of this would compare to six external rolling shutters?
We keep hearing only about shutters or “no” windows and just replacing them with a glass door. We feel really cornered.
We would be very grateful for any ideas or suggestions.
I could use a bit of advice or some help thinking this through.
We are currently planning a new build, and the floor plan, building permit / planning permission, etc. are all finalized. We could start immediately if it weren’t for an expensive showstopper raised by the energy consultant.
Due to a slope in the terrain, our living/dining area and the adjoining semi-open kitchen are situated lower. The ceiling height is about 3.8m (12.5 ft). The windows facing the garden are two 3x3m (10x10 ft) ones to the west, plus a large corner window to the east. Now, we are being told that all windows in this critical room require external shutters. Improving the Ug/Uw rating of the windows wouldn’t change this. The window-to-room ratio is about 40%. The fact is: this is not affordable.
Current suggestion: no windows, only a glass door with a transom window above. This means we would no longer be able to look out onto our garden, which is absolutely not acceptable for us.
The consultant is therefore denying the necessary summer heat protection. If it’s only about this critical room—what else can be done?
1) We have a ventilation system installed, with enhanced night ventilation considered. It’s unclear whether heat recovery is included.
2) District heating or air-to-water heat pump.
Are there models that could integrate an affordable air conditioning system just for 2 rooms? That way, we would have a solution for about 15 to 20 days per year. Does anyone have an idea how the cost of this would compare to six external rolling shutters?
We keep hearing only about shutters or “no” windows and just replacing them with a glass door. We feel really cornered.
We would be very grateful for any ideas or suggestions.
driver55 schrieb:
To assess this properly, we would need to see the floor plan and elevations… Well, with two (!) 3x3m (10x10 feet) windows on the west side, I already know without the floor plan that this is going to cause problems. Of course, it would have been better if the planner had anticipated this without involving an energy consultant… especially since there is also a large corner window on the east side and a total window-to-living-area ratio of 40% ‘planned.’
Be that as it may, @NordischJung, the energy consultant deserves a medal ‘Against the Animal Heat’ and you should be grateful to them. Without external shading, the house will be practically uninhabitable. For south-facing windows, you might still be able to manage with an overhanging roof or something similar (in summer the sun is high, and in winter the lower sun provides welcome heat gain), but for east and west windows, you MUST be able to shade them.
Believe me, I lived until November in an old building from 1886: 80cm (31.5 inches) thick solid brick walls and about half the window area you have planned. Pure east-facing windows in summer were enough to raise the indoor temperature to 28°C (82°F)… and the house had absolutely no modern insulation standards.
My clear recommendation: Venetian blinds with exterior shading!
N
NordischJung27 Aug 2021 14:47Hello everyone,
First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who commented. There were many valuable suggestions that made us reconsider some things.
In advance: The energy consultant was limited by their software from combining different thermal insulation measures and therefore recommended more measures than necessary. Anyway.
Summary:
- All windows will be lowered by 50cm (20 inches).
- The two west-facing windows will be reduced from 3x3 meters (10x10 feet) to 2x2.5 meters (6.5x8 feet) and will have external blinds.
- The corner window in the northeast will be shortened by 1.5 meters (5 feet) towards the north and will receive...
- In the manual calculation, the building’s overhangs could be used for shading.
-> In the end, we spent an additional €300 on a 3D simulation. It was worth it. If we had known that earlier, we could have avoided a few rounds of revisions.
Many thanks to all!
First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who commented. There were many valuable suggestions that made us reconsider some things.
In advance: The energy consultant was limited by their software from combining different thermal insulation measures and therefore recommended more measures than necessary. Anyway.
Summary:
- All windows will be lowered by 50cm (20 inches).
- The two west-facing windows will be reduced from 3x3 meters (10x10 feet) to 2x2.5 meters (6.5x8 feet) and will have external blinds.
- The corner window in the northeast will be shortened by 1.5 meters (5 feet) towards the north and will receive...
- In the manual calculation, the building’s overhangs could be used for shading.
-> In the end, we spent an additional €300 on a 3D simulation. It was worth it. If we had known that earlier, we could have avoided a few rounds of revisions.
Many thanks to all!
NordischJung schrieb:
All windows will be lowered by 50cm (20 inches). The windows in the invisible house design ...
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
P
pagoni202027 Aug 2021 21:00I would like to add that I experienced this with my son during the summer: after shading a single, very small roof window, the room temperature suddenly changed from unbearable heat to completely comfortable. If such a window faces the sun, I would never leave it without shading. In the case described, an immense amount of heat was caused by just ONE unshaded window (in this case a roof window), which can ruin your enjoyment of the entire house.
H
hampshire28 Aug 2021 12:09Thank you for the feedback.
I only saw the thread late. If it gets too warm in the summer, a temporarily installed sunshade sail can also help. It will work out!
I only saw the thread late. If it gets too warm in the summer, a temporarily installed sunshade sail can also help. It will work out!
Similar topics