Hot humid climates
Really good design for the hot humid tropics makes use of good shading, sheltered outdoor areas, and lightweight construction elevated for natural ventilation. But at least some of the day the coolest part of the house might be on the bottom floor and more thermally massive, which also suits other considerations such as designing for cyclones. A well designed house will provide for a relaxed outdoor lifestyle with modest use of airconditioning.
- Generally lightweight construction should be used with good cross ventilation.
- Insulated and vented roof are good options.
- Part of the lower floor may be thermally massive and with more limited ventilation may be used as a daytime cool refuge.
- Vegetation and outdoor areas can enhance shade and cooling breezes.
- Increased ceiling heights and ceiling fans are helpful.
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| Design elements | Design essentials | Best practice design options | Recommended James Hardie materials |
| Siting | Site for exposure to summer breeze and shading all year. Elevated construction can help to ensure access to breezes, and create shaded outdoor space. | Use plans with one room depth to encourage ideal movement of breezes through the building (cross ventilation). Appropriately designed thermally massive lower floor living areas can provide cooler refuge during the day. | |
| Sub-floor and floor | Use lightweight construction – elevated on bearers and joists to permit airflow beneath floors. | Create some full height recreational areas under elevated floors – they enjoy ‘indirect evaporative cooling’ all year round from the shaded ground surface. | |
| Roof | Ventilate roof spaces. Use light coloured roof materials. Consider high or raked ceilings. | Consider using a ‘fly roof’ for permanent shading. | |
| Walls | Use reflective insulation, and bulk insulation if mechanically cooling. Use light coloured wall materials. Design and build for cyclonic conditions. | Minimise exposed east and west walls. Shade all walls from sun. | Any James Hardie cladding material in combination with carefully placed reflective foil insulation to ensure appropriate condensation control. |
| Openings | Allow passive solar access in winter months only. | ||
| Clip-ons | Shade the whole building in summer and winter. Provide shaded and screened verandas for indoor-outdoor living, and sleepout spaces. | Extended vertical screens can modify otherwise unfavourably oriented openings to improve natural ventilation. | Consider shading buildings with HardiPanel compressed awnings (designed and detailed appropriately), and use HardiPanel compressed sheets for decks, verandas and terraces. Line veranda ceilings with HardiGroove lining or Versilux lining. Use HardiScreen® lattice screens for privacy and ventilation. See The Smarter Design Book for ideas on detailing at http://jameshardie.com.au/smarterdesign |
| Landscape elements | Use planting to channel breezes. | Use HardieScreen lattice screens as landscape elements for improved natural ventilation. |
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