Home  5  Books  5  GBEzine  5  News  5  HelpDesk  5  Register  5  GreenBuilding.co.uk
Not signed in (Sign In)

Categories



Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition
Green Building Bible, fourth edition (both books)
These two books are the perfect starting place to help you get to grips with one of the most vitally important aspects of our society - our homes and living environment.

PLEASE NOTE: A download link for Volume 1 will be sent to you by email and Volume 2 will be sent to you by post as a book.
Buy individually or both books together. Delivery is free!


powered by Surfing Waves




Vanilla 1.0.3 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

Welcome to new Forum Visitors
 Join the forum now and benefit from discussions with thousands of other green building fans and discounts on Green Building Press publications: Apply now.




Commercial build: Orientation

Bottom of Page

1 to 11 of 11

  1.  
    • CommentAuthortony
    • CommentTimeJan 31st 2007
     
    Is aspect important? Should homes be oriented to all face south? With few or very small windows on the north side?

    Should passive solar design be mandatory for all public buildings , offices and schools?
    •  
      CommentAuthornigel
    • CommentTimeJan 31st 2007
     
    There is a land use issue here. Not all sites have a southerly aspect, they may be shaded or in a street running north south.

    Therefore it would be difficult to be prescriptive. I see plenty of modern building with an inapproriate designed south facing glazed facade which will lead to over heating.

    The best way to improve the performance of public buildings is to improve modelling like the SBEM and to tighten up the standards required.

    Each site will have its own priorities and possibilities.
  3.  
    Are you using SBEM Nigel? how do you find it? I have access but do not use it as we have dynamic software which allows for far more accurate modelling to be done. I am currently working with students on a project built to AECB Silver which has a lot of South facing glazing. This type of software is vital in predicting overheating as you can also model natvent strategies/solar shading etc to overcome potential problems.

    I agree that it is not practical on all sites to build South facing
    •  
      CommentAuthornigel
    • CommentTimeFeb 1st 2007
     
    Yes I have used SBEM and its rubbish at everything other thean giving a final result on energy and co2.(And even then I have no way of knowing how accurate that is).
    The other problem with it is that the building regs guys dont understand it or how to interpret the results.

    But this form of modelling could be improved to help design out overglazing and provide recommendations for improvement.
    It is also easy to tighten up the requirements becuase you dont have to do it elementally like you used to.
    So whilst SBEM is useless as a design tool it is the right way to go to improve standards.

    Most of the models I looked at required you to re-enter all the CAD drawing which makes them very difficult to use unless you have a very simple building.
  5.  
    Yes, I agree, I have sampled a few dynamic packages and none of them have a user friendly interface. The 3D CAD is very crude but it is the only way to accurately assess things like solar shading. TAS is awsome but requires not just a design background but a building services one as well. I am okay with the first part but the knowledge of parameters for aircon and complex heating plant are beyond me at present. I think the only way forward is for collaborative partnerships between Architects/Designers and Building Services Engineers. I don't expect an amalgamation between RIBA and CIBSE anytime soon though!
    • CommentAuthortrotsky
    • CommentTimeDec 14th 2007
     
    i orientated 2 solar panels due south and standing up at 50 degrees ( latitude here is 52 degrees )
    to catch max sun in spring and autumn and not to overheat in summer, they can only recieve 3 hours direct sun in winter, so south facing orientation helps compensate for this. they are steeper than the roof and raised. sun powered shower is great.
    Cant afford to not use free solar energy, many public buildings have good orientation and can harvest lots of the sun power. govt commitment would stimulate investment in low carbon technology.
    Photo Voltaic panels can track the sun from side to side and up and down.
    hot water Solar panels could at least move in one axis. for max sun steep in winter pointing up in summer, would need flexible pipes,
    follow the sun
  7.  
    Re tracking the sun. Is there technology available which would allow PV's to respond to the position of the sun and re-orientate themselves accordingly? Or would the energy requirement be prohibitive?
    • CommentAuthorbiffvernon
    • CommentTimeDec 14th 2007
     
    Surely it's a matter of asking whether the energy used by the motors that move the panel use more or less energy than than the extra energy captured by the panel at the improved orientation.

    And then you have to add in the servicing cost since anything that moves eventually gets stuck.

    Based on the fact that virtually all the pv panels are fixed I suspect the answer is clear.
    • CommentAuthorstephendv
    • CommentTimeDec 14th 2007
     
    Solar trackers are usually not suited for home use because the biggest gain from a solar tracker is in the summer when the sun makes a more pronounced arc in the sky. In winter (when you really need the electricity), the sun moves less so the effects of a tracker are not as pronounced. Some installers recommend buying additional statically mounted panels rather than invest the extra cash in a tracker system.
    Of course if you're selling your PV electricity back to the grid, then it could be more cost effective to install tracker systems as they generate more revenue in the summer months.
    • CommentAuthorMike George
    • CommentTimeDec 14th 2007 edited
     
    Posted By: biffvernonSurely it's a matter of asking whether the energy used by the motors that move the panel use more or less energy than than the extra energy captured by the panel at the improved orientation.

    And then you have to add in the servicing cost since anything that moves eventually gets stuck.

    Based on the fact that virtually all the pv panels are fixed I suspect the answer is clear.


    That's what I meant by the energy rquirement being prohibitive, sorry if it wasn't clear. Perhaps most PVs are all fixed because of the cost of tracking systems as stephendy suggests. Surely the cost of fossil fuels will likely make this kind of technology cost effective sooner or later.

    The crux is the energy requirement needed. Anyone care to comment on this?
    • CommentAuthorstephendv
    • CommentTimeDec 15th 2007
     
    The solar farms used to sell electricity back to the grid here in Northern Spain are mixed, some static and some mounted on trackers. Which type is preferable may depend on a lot on the area and the company installing them (e.g. is labour for maintenance cheap) and are there more clear skies than cloudy skies. In cloudy climates the light is more diffuse so more static panels are better than fewer tracking panels. Latitude would play a role too (lower latitude = more movement of the sun in the sky, which means more gains by tracker systems).
    As the price of panels goes down, I think we'll see fewer tracker systems as it becomes more economical to just use more panels.

1 to 11 of 11

  1.  
Add your comments

    Username Password
  • Format comments as
 
Back to Discussions Top of Page
   
The Ecobuilding Buzz
Site Map    |   Home    |   View Cart    |   Pressroom   |   Business   |   Links   
Logout    

© Green Building Press