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It's summer and it's scorching hot outside and inside my rented house! It's an irony that modern Philippine house designs aren't suited for the tropical climate. They look good outside, but inside it's a heat trap. To remedy this, some homeowners install air conditioners. But this is not a practical solution to many as electricity cost is prohibitive. Plus there are the frequent brownouts. This dilemma made me think about practical but efficient home cooling ideas.
It is important to build a house that uses passive cooling systems at the onset. Below are some concepts from my research, plus my own ideas.
The roof is exposed to sunlight and absorbs heat more than any other part of the house. A green roof is a mat of greenery that absorbs solar energy, acting as a natural insulator. Aside from insulation, green roof attracts wildlife like birds and bees. It also helps absorb run offs during heavy rains.
Before installing a green roof, strengthen the roof structure. To make sure, it will not collapse due to the extra weight of plants, soil, and water. Rain soaked soil can weight up to 150 kg/sqm, so the load bearing structure must be incorporated in the roof's design.
Use reinforced foam concrete. Aside from being lightweight, it has a high R-value. R-value measures a material's resistance to the flow of heat. The higher the value, the better it insulates per inch of thickness.
A rust proof steel deck supports the concrete. For stability during earthquakes, the columns bearing the deck have crossbars. Coat concrete with long-lasting elastomeric paint or tar for waterproofing.
The roof although flat has a gentle slope on one end with drainage. The low end should be in front of the house, so it highlights and advertise the green roof for others to emulate.
A green roof consists of several layers. Vital is the barrier between the plants and roof itself. Plant roots are so powerful that they can even crack open concrete roads. So, the first layer is the root barrier membrane or even a pond liner. It prevents the roots and water from penetrating the roof.
A thin layer of gravel and sand on top of the barrier facilitates drainage. It prevents "drowning" of plants during the rainy season.
Add rice husks and wood pulp to prevent top soil erosion and lock moisture in. Next, is compose for plant nutrients. Then top soil and finally the plants themselves. Carabao grass and short shrubs with small and shallow roots are best. Choose plants that are pest and drought resistant, veggies may also be an option. This is what I have in mind, but growing trees is also possible.
Install solar panels on top of the green roof. Distribute it in a way that it doesn't cover the plants. The roof deck extends out from the wall. The extension act as a wide eaves that shades the wall. Waterproof the intersection of the roof and wall, so rain water doesn't seep in. Use hanging plants on the edge of the green roof to emulate a "green" curtain. Or a green wall. Roof supports rain water collection and store in water tank.
There is a gap between the roof and ceiling. The gap prevents direct heat transfer from the roof down to the living areas. Polycarbonate panel is a perfect ceiling material. Use aluminum frames to support the ceiling. Aside from being durable and lightweight, polycarbonate also has a high R-value. There is ample distance between ceiling and floor, so hot air separates at the top. The ceiling has ventilation near light bulbs. Or on top of heat generating appliances like TV and ref. The wall in the ceiling also has ventilation to allow heat to escape outside.
The wall is made of foam concrete or LitePanel, if not use an insulation mortar.
Light color reflects heat. Use white lime paint on the exterior wall and light colored paint in interior walls. Select white polycarbonate panels for the ceiling. Davies Paints have Sun and Rain, ElastoGel Ultra, and Elasto Flexx are elastomeric water-proof paints.
Louvre window is perfect as it lets in the most air. Cheap clear/frosted polycarbonate panels serve as window blades. Window height extends up to the ceiling. Hot air by nature rises up, while cool air sinks down. The window has an upper and lower part. Opening the upper part allows hot air and humidity to escape. As it escapes, it pulls in cool air from the outside, cooling the house in the process.
ETFE(Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) is durable, highly-transparent, environmentally friendly and a lightweight alternative to glass structures.
Use thin and light colored curtains. Place curtain in a way that it doesn't block the upper part of the window.
Place windows near areas of high humidity like sink and preparation table in the kitchen. Also, near heat sources like TV and cooked food in the living room and dining table.
Use doors with ventilation at the bottom for master bedroom and comfort room. The rest of the bedrooms don't have doors but thin and light colored curtains only.
Seal the doors and windows to prevent cool indoor air from escaping and outside hot air from coming in. Seal door and window sides with brush seal strip. If there is a big gap between door and floor, add bottom door sweep. Apply hot melt glue stick along the window frame's edge with a glue gun. Buy hot melt glue stick, glue gun, brush seal strip and door sweep.
Separate the comfort room and kitchen from the living room. Comfort room is a source of humidity. The kitchen generates both heat and humidity from cooking. Use a transparent polycarbonate swinging door. The door covers the top but the bottom is open.
When buying a bidet, choose the one with less number and just the right size of holes, and a soft lever. More holes and smaller size means less water pressure.
Build a fountain or fish pond just outside the living room. Plant a tree beside so a large part of the fountain or pond is under the shade. The fountain's water evaporation cools the surrounding air. If you open the windows or door, the house will take in the cool air. Choose a waterfall type fountain that is quiet. Add bottle tower garden on both sides to absorb any extra humidity and produce oxygen. Turn this on during summer only.
Place indoor plants in bedrooms, comfort room, dining room and kitchen. Plants absorb harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and many others. Hang plants near windows. Here's a list of 20 best plants for cleaning indoor air, and 15 indoor hanging plants to greenify your space, the natural way. Red Aglaonemas or Chinese Evergreen is one of the best indoor air purifying plants recommended by NASA. It eliminates mainly benzene, formaldehyde and gives fresh oxygen. It is a natural humidifier. No need to buy a monthly pack of air fresheners or spend on expensive purifiers. Create humidity for houseplants.
Install wall fans in bedrooms, living room and dining room. Place it in a way that the air flows at the back. Tips on how to humidify a room naturally and natural ways to dehumidify the house.
Use an exhaust fan in the cooking area to drive out heat, smoke, and humidity from cooking.
Use low wattage, generate less heat but high lumen LED light bulbs. Phillips LED bulbs, brighter and long-lasting. Choose the warm white tone. Buy the recessed ceiling type, so the heat doesn't transfer down to the living areas. Also checkout circular flat bulbs, if practical. Determine the most efficient number of bulbs and their distribution. Incorporate smart light bulbs with motion and light sensing inside and outside the house. Place night lights outside the doors, house corners, and gates. Add glow in the dark decals on living room wall and ceiling.
Use beeswax candle as they have lots of benefits. Made from the caps of bee honeycombs, beeswax candles burn clean, are very long-burning, and give off a pleasant natural fragrance as they burn. Beeswax candles are dripless when burned properly, and release negative ions which help clean the air in a room. It is also renewable.
Use rechargeable Eveready AA or AAA batteries and chargers. Don't buy china made, they can explode and cause fire.
Low energy consumption means low heat generation. Buy low wattage appliances and equipment. Limit appliances to TV, audio system, media player and computer/laptop only in the living room to reduce heat. Refrigerator and washing machine are in the kitchen. Group blender, microwave, toasters, hot plate, electric pot/thermos, rice cookers, and burner together near the window. It maybe more practical to use a bottom load water dispenser with hot and cold feature, can turn off and on as needed.
Make it a habit of switching off lights and turning off appliances when not in use. Turn on the exhaust fan in the kitchen only when cooking. Open windows and doors at night to let in cool air and close it during daytime to prevent hot air coming in. Plant veggies and trees.
Wear light colored and thin cotton clothing. When staying home, choose shorts over pants. "Sando" over polo shirts and v-neck over turtleneck t-shirts.
Buy sofa made of native materials like bamboo and "rattan" or "uway". These materials are cool to the skin, unlike leather. Use bamboo fiber or cotton bed sheets, they have good wicking properties. Place a waterproof sheet over the bed foam, to prevent perspiration and other body liquids from spoiling it.
Building green roof with wide eaves insulate the house from outside heat. Correct ventilation design and placement allows natural air flow within the house. Plants provide shade and fresh air. Using and grouping energy efficient appliances reduce interior heat production. Most important, develop "cool" habits.
Read more about ways to cool the house without air conditioning. Watch a green home design. For home design ideas in general watch Philippine Realty TV.
To help me layout and design my dream house, I use HomeByMe or HomeStyler. Easy to use web apps, no need to an architect or engineer. On Linux desktop, Sweet Home 3D is a free open-source interior design application that allows users to create detailed 2D floor plans, arrange furniture, and view them instantly in 3D. Available as Flatpak.
Here's a video of a small BR transformation.
Interesting small house designs:
1 Loft 4x6 m, 2 BR 1 Loft 4x6 m, 3 BR 4x6 m, 2 BR 1 Loft 5x6 m unit in a 4-door apartment, 3 BR 6x7 m, 1 BR 1 Loft 8x7 m, 1 BR 1 Loft 10.5x5 m.
MisterHouse is a an open source home automation program. MySensors is an open source hardware and software community focusing on do-it-yourself home automation and Internet of Things. Automate your home or any electronic project using Arduino, RaspBerryPI, and TingkerForge.
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