The correct placement of a detached house saves energy

Are you planning to build a new detached house or to have one built? The Building Inspection Authority of the City of Jyväskylä gives free advance advice for constructors who apply for a building permit.

−The aim is to get planning on the right track in its early stages already to avoid unnecessary planning rounds and to make the permit process a smooth one, the building permit architect Anna-Maija Tuunanen says. 

A detached house is the single most expensive purchase in one’s life but living is not free either. When a house is designed for energy-efficiency from the start, living costs can be kept in check.

According to Tuunanen, placing a building on a plot is one of the most central points. Plan provisions usually allow for alternative ways of placement.

−It is a good idea to place the house on the sunniest part of the plot to make the best use of passive and active solar energy. 

Passive solar energy means direct use of natural light and heating directly without devices. In active use, solar radiation is converted into heating and electric energy.
 

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Living rooms facing the sun

When planning the layout, it is a good idea to pay attention to placing especially the living room and the kitchen facing south and west to get as much natural light as possible into the room for as long as possible. On the other hand, the bedrooms can well be facing north or east.

−It is a good principle to have light coming to living rooms from at least two different directions, Anna-Maija Tuunanen reminds.

It is also good to place half-warm spaces such as verandahs facing the light. 

−In planning, attention must also be paid to prevention of overheating with curtains or other means of shading because air conditioning and air cooling also take up energy.

 Compact construction is energy-efficient

Anna-Maija Tuunanen invites one to learn from the clear-cut and uncluttered building style of the 1940s and 1950s so-called “veteran’s houses” as the size and shape of a building have an impact on energy consumption.  

−After the wars, there were compact houses built with efficient use of square and cubic metres. With a building surface of an appropriate size, the outer shell will also be of a reasonable size. 

−For example, a dice-like house with one-and-a-half storeys can be a more energy-efficient solution than a single-storey detached house that spreads in various directions.

An energy-efficient house is also a well-insulated one. When the walls, window jambs, base floor, and roof are insulated in accordance with building regulations, cold air stays out and warm air stays in. 

Using renewable energy in heating

Deciding about the form of heating is one of the most important choices in a detached house project. Anna-Maija Tuunanen would encourage opting for a renewable source of energy.

−It is a pleasure to see how much geothermic heat and solar panels are in use nowadays. 

−We at the advance advice service of the Building Inspection Authority do not delve on technical details but we may take a look at where to install a geothermal pump or solar panels on the plot.

It would be good to have a fireplace in the house in the “veteran’s house” way. It always pays off to place a heat-storing fireplace, a baking oven, or another source of heat in the middle of a building so that heat can spread.
 

Text: Pia Tervoja
Photos: Anna-Maija Tuunanen and Päivi Pelkonen