Chapter 4 Energy-Efficient Home Design - Florida Solar Energy Center

West-facing home plans
As previously discussed, the west is the worst side
for glass. Choose designs which have one or no
front windows, and which have a long porch on the
back to shade the house from the morning sun.
Finding an energy-efficient west-facing plan is a
challenge, but many design options are available -
although they may require modifications to an exist-
ing plan.
Keep house oriented on east-west axis. Put
design emphasis on roof elevation and consider
side-entry garages.
Consider a house shape other than a simple rec-
tangle to permit north- and south-facing glass and
adequate ventilation. Examples: a 7-shape,
U-shape, H-shape.
Choose shapes with most windows on side.
Plan WF-la
House Plan Examples
Use a large, covered front porch to shade win-
dows. Consider a Victorian or country design to
make the front porch a marketing feature.
Plan WF-la is a U-shaped plan that uses the garage
and front porch to shade the house from the sun.
The shape permits cross-ventilation for every room.
If a longer front elevation is desired, a larger front
and back porch can provide the needed shade, as
shown in plan WF-1 b.
Plan WF-2 has no front windows and will provide
excellent cross-ventilation to each room with
southeast winds (a predominant wind direction in
many parts of the state).
L - - - - - - - - -J
Plan WF-1 b
1520 SQ. FT.
r------------7
I
SCREENED
PORCH
I
1
1360 SQ. FT
Plan WF-2