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Design a compact new home with shaded windows to the sun and efficient ventilation

A compact home is easier to insulate and loses less heat. Windows to the east, south or west catch winter sun but need shading, and ventilation with demand control or heat recovery saves the most.

Flanders

Sources checked on .

Building rules (EPB, EPC)Level 5 · Deep renovationCost: Over €25,000Weeks or months

Some energy choices for a new home are made on the drawing board. A Flemish building guide for near-zero-energy homes gives three pointers.

Keep the shape compact. Compactness compares the heated volume with the area of the shell that loses heat. The more compact the home, the easier it is to insulate and the less heat it loses.

Put the main windows to the east, south or west. They let in free heat from the winter sun, but they also warm the rooms quickly in summer, so plan sun shading on those three sides. It doesn't have to be movable or automatic.

Choose ventilation with demand control or heat recovery. Ventilation system C lets fresh air in naturally and extracts it mechanically, while system D both supplies and extracts air mechanically. In the EPB calculation, systems that avoid ventilating more than needed or that recover heat score better on energy.

Details

ImpactNot rated · The cited sources don't give a size for this saving, so we don't guess. How we rate impact
Estimated savingNot quantified in the cited guide; design choices lower the home's heat loss and ventilation losses. (confidence: low)
Who actsYou (owner)
Needs landlord's agreementNo
TypeAction
Constant or subject to changeConstant · Good practice that barely changes with new laws, prices or services.

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Sources

  1. Praktische bouwgids voor jouw BEN-woning (in Dutch) · Vlaamse overheid (publicaties.vlaanderen.be) (official source) · checked on
    Backs: a compact home is easier to insulate and loses less heat; east, south and west windows catch winter sun and need shading on those three sides; choose ventilation with demand control or heat recovery
    Where: p. 14 (orientation and sun shading), p. 16 ('Een optimale schil', compactness), p. 24 (ventilation)
  2. Impact van ventilatie op het E-peil (EPB-pedia) (in Dutch) · Vlaams Energie- en Klimaatagentschap (EPB-pedia) (official source) · checked on
    Backs: systems that avoid too much ventilation or recover heat score better on energy
  3. Ventilatiesystemen (EPB-pedia) (in Dutch) · Vlaams Energie- en Klimaatagentschap (EPB-pedia) (official source) · checked on
    Backs: system C has natural supply and mechanical extract; system D has mechanical supply and extract
    Where: section 'Verschillende systemen'

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