Double glazing does not make your house warm.

The Building industry has regulated the industry today to make believe that if you insulate your house you will be warm and snug all year round. Insulation does not guarantee warmth any more than a new car will offer better miles per gallon. There are a lot of factors that go into the design of a home that determines its value in warmth, in both attracting that heat and holding it.

If you were to travel to place like Mexico where it snows in winter and is hot in the summer, you will find an architect who designs earth ships that need no heating, they rely on the sun to heat and the design of the house holds the heat year round.

A good house should capitalise of the views and the sun without losing benefit from either but gaining the most from the sun and storing it in such a way that it can be regenerated during the colder times. There are many different things that can be done to gain the suns advantage and double glazing certainly does not guarantee any benefit if the house is designed incorrectly.

As I travel around this country I see new subdivisions opening up all the time, they are called 'Estates' and ironically come for a root word which in the Indian culture describes a slum. I call them garage and roof subdivisions because all you see is a garage and a huge roof. Ironically also these houses need to install heat pumps in order to keep the winter chill at bay and also to cool the house in summer thereby adding to the greenhouses gases and placing a huge drain on our financial resources.

If you want a house that works the best you need to consider the siting of the building first and foremost and the materials to gain the best heat storage. You also need to consider the movement of air within the spaces, remembering also that the spaces you require the most sun should be facing the point where the sun is at its highest at noon.

There is another misconception in house design that you have your lounge facing the noon day sun and the bedrooms directly facing the sun rising and living areas facing the setting sun. You then end up with one wall facing South in the Southern Hemisphere or North in the Northern Hemisphere. This is not the most beneficial way to site your house, it is best to take a diagonal through the building with the area you require the most sun in facing the noon sun. Your entry should then come in from the opposite side. This means that you will never have a wall that does not see sun, as all walls will be exposed to sunshine all year round.

If you require further clarification and understanding please feel free to contact me and I will answer any questions you may have at rirandell@gmail.com