SunConscious low energy passive solar design and construction

Especially in Australia's uplands, passive solar design is a very powerful technique for achieving year-round comfort with little or no purchased energy. The SunConscious Design team, with experience in all of Australia's varied climates, applies an extensive vocabulary of "passive solar" design techniques in combination to create highly-liveable, artistic spaces which are cheap to run and very gentle on the environment.

For a feature article on "Green Living" click here and scroll to pages 94-105.

For a web tool for optimising proposed house extensions for energy efficiency visit Smarter Renovations (content by Energy Partners for Sustainability Victoria). For applications outside Victoria, use the Ballarat climate for Tasmania and uplands like the Canberra Region or the NSW Highlands. Use the Melbourne climate for southern SA. Use the Mildura climate for inland areas more than 28° south (Geraldton to Gundiwindy).

Project Examples and photo gallery:

• A home in south suburban Canberra designed by Trevor Lee.
• A conventional home in Weston Creek (south suburban Canberra) transformed. Designer: Nigel Coates
• A new home in Clareville (harbourside Sydney) designed by Nigel Coates
• Passive solar dual occupancy home in Lyons (south suburban Canberra) designed by Dave Hodgkin and Trevor Lee
• A 'Gothic revival' yet passive solar home in O'Malley (south suburban Canberra) designed by Mike d'Onofrio and Trevor Lee
• A Passive Solar extension in O'Connor (inner north suburban Canberra) by Dave Hodgkin and Trevor Lee
• A Passive Solar extension in O'Connor (inner north suburban Canberra) by Trevor Lee
• A Passive Solar neighbourhood in Fairbairn (east Canberra) by Trevor Lee