Selected Project
Wadestown Solar Home
This solar heated and naturally ventilated house was designed by its owner, Aonui Architecture director Richard Wright. It takes advantage of the excellent north-facing site, and is a demonstration of active solar architecture. Eighty percent of the house’s north-facing walls are glazed to allow for solar heating of the floor slabs and upper air volume. The Wadestown Solar Home serves the joint purpose of being a family home for two adults and three teenagers, and a showplace for Aonui Architecture's sustainable design principles. Simple automatic controls keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer using mainly natural energy. The active solar and natural ventilation systems are expressed as a vital ingredient in the architecture making this a unique and much loved dwelling. Thermometers in key locations throughout the house automatically monitor temperatures and trigger windows to open to maintain the selected comfort level (usually 21°C). In winter, the automatic controls typically keep the windows shut. A fan and duct transport the solar-warmed air within the house to a basement rock bin for storage and later recovery on cold days, maintaining living level temperatures within a 4°C band throughout winter. In summer, the louvre windows open like gills and moderate daytime temperatures within one degree of the selected level, closing only for wind and rain and night time security. The upper floor balustrade consists of slender copper pipes which are heated by the sun through north wall glazing. Heated water in the collection pipes is circulated through to save gas use on sunny days. Research data and automated systems from this experimental house provide a vital resource in a range of other Aonui Architecture projects. The Aonui Architecture design studio is located at the Solar Home.
- Category
- Sustainable Architecture
- Location
- Wellington
- Year
- 2018
