• design your own house;
• evaluate existing houses, what would they be like to live in?;
• choose a project home design which will be comfortable in the climate where you live; or
• when renovating or extending your house.

A house can be planned to deliver comfortable conditions of temperature, air movement and radiated heat - in other words, the best possible indoor climate. The design starting point has got to be the outdoor climate - how can the house modify the ambient/exterior conditions, so that indoors is usually more comfortable than outdoors?

Australia has 6 main climatic zones, as shown on the map below. Each climate zone needs a different design approach - a great house-plan for Kalgoorlie will be a disaster in Cairns. However, some design details work well in all types of climates:

• North-facing windows in living areas (but the windows should be large in cool climates, small and high-set when summer is hot and dry);
• Not much east-facing glass, even less on western walls (but no eastern or western windows at all in hot, dry climates);
• Cross-ventilation (crucial when summer is warm to hot and humid);
• Insulation (but the type of insulation and the amount needed varies with the climate).

Click on the map to see each zone separately: it's easier to pick which zone you live in. Next, check the house design tips for the climate where you live:

Within each climate zone, there will be local climate variations from place to place. Knowing about these will help you to choose a good building site and to fine-tune your house design.

You may strike some problems (cost, undesirable outlook to the North, etc) but most barriers to good design can be overcome.

Want to know more about climate and comfortable, low-energy housing?

Check our list of other sources of information.