Windows, Orientation, and Heat
Passive Temperature assistance (this is a long one)
A deep porch on the west facing side will serve two purposes. First it will shade any windows from the long afternoon summer sun. Second it will provide an outdoor dining room where we can enjoy sunsets over the Bay.
I originally wanted a deep porch on the East side of the house for the morning sun but will probably have to settle for Bahama Shutters instead. Adding the additional roofing for east and west porches was killing my budget.
Good airflow through the house is important, the winds will blow off the bay on most fall and spring days in an East South Easterly direction. In the Summer it will either die off or switch to a West North Westerly direction when the Gulf breeze fails to overcome the Atlantic breeze.
This is why I need to protect those west facing window openings from solar radiation. I want to be able to open them up in the Spring and Fall.
The South facing windows will be wide and short, placed up high close to the eaves. This should keep them shaded from the Summer sun during the warmest part of the day when the suns radiation is the strongest. In the Winter when the suns solar noon angle drops to 38 degrees, these wide high windows will be in full sun and adding solar heat to the building envelope.
The East Facing windows will be tall like the West facing windows they will have to be mechanically shaded.
The many North facing windows will be tall open to the common rooms of the home. They will almost always be shaded by the structure of the home year round. These windows are more about letting reflected light and air into the home and less about managing solar radiation.
The bathrooms will be located on the South Side of the home so they can soak up warmth during the short Winter days. Bathrooms are typically a room that we prefer to be warm.
Most of the bedrooms will be on the South wall as well. These are rooms that we want to absorb daytime heating in the Winter to reduce the need for mechanical cooling on those long winter nights.
The common spaces including the kitchen will be located on the cooler North side of the Home. This should keep these spaces cooler and more comfortable during the heat of the day. If these spaces get a little chilly at night it will not make much of a difference because we will be in our warm South facing rooms at night.
