New Kitchens and Bathrooms

Posted on: 20 October 2020

When planning home renovations, you may be focused on the aesthetic and practical facets of different flooring and surface materials. While this is important, don't forget to incorporate passive design principles that will heat and cool your home more naturally, reducing energy consumption on heating and cooling. Consider the following ideas.

Use Efficient Window Glass

Opening up your home with expansive windows is a popular way to connect the indoors and outdoors. But make sure to pay attention to the type of glass you install. Buildings can lose and gain a massive amount of heat through the windows. This is because warmth travels more easily through glass than thicker walls and roofs. One way to block solar radiation from entering is to board up the windows. Fortunately, you don't need to go that far. Instead, install energy-efficient options — such as low-E and double glazing — that are designed to stop winter warmth from leaving, and summer heat from entering. Low-E panes have a reflective coating that deflects heat, while double glazing units that consist of two panes filled with air or gas slow down the speed that heat moves through.

Take Advantage of Smart Heating and Cooling Features

While you can reduce your reliance on heating and cooling through means such as energy-efficient glazing, you might still need to use air conditioners and heaters to some degree. However, you can select models that run efficiently. For instance, a multi-zoned system allows you to target where you disperse air so that you're not wasting energy blowing hot and cold air into empty rooms. Motion sensor features provide for even finer-tuned control, as they recognise where people are and concentrate on those spaces.

Install a Skylight

One way to make your home more beautiful and efficient at the same time is to install a skylight. Your home will be brighter as a result, and thus you'll turn to artificial light sources less. The benefit of a skylight, however, is more far-reaching than that. It doesn't only help the room it's installed in but rather can affect the airflow in your entire house.

If you install a ventilated skylight, you can take advantage of natural ventilation.  Hot air naturally streams upwards — thus, a roof opening provides the ideal outlet for it to flow out of your home. You simply need then to open a window at a lower level to set up a circular flow.

An open skylight will particularly help humid areas such as bathroom and kitchens so that enhanced decor will remain looking fresh and gorgeous long after your renovations.