Hi there
I am looking at building a double story North facing passive solar design home and we are also looking at North facing living areas in double story homes that are for sale.
A general observation in all the ones we have seen for sale or that friends have, is that the ground floor is always cooler, sometimes up to 10 degrees less than upstairs. This is the case in houses that have large void to upper level and to a lesser extent houses that simply have a staircase to the upper level without any doors.
Example we say yesterday, ground floor living areas North facing, 2.4 m ceiling height, concrete slab with floor tiles, narrow eaves 300-400 mm, 2 windows on North side plus large glass North facing sliding door. 10 m by 8 m open plan room. No shading from upper story as upper story rooms does not cover ground floor North facing living areas. No large open void to upper level, just a small staircase without a door. Significant temp difference as you walk up straircase to upper level.
I would like some feedback about these 2 questions
1 With good design and a well built home with appropriate insulation what temperature difference can be achieved between ground floor North facing passive solar rooms and upper level North facing rooms? Looking for a smaller difference as possible.
2 What are the design approaches that work to minimize temperature variation between ground and upper floors?
Thanks for any suggestions and have a good day
Cheers
Kevin
adn insulation