Renowned for its idyllic scenery and world-class vineyards, the Hunter Valley is a homeowner’s dream location for a tree change. Historically, local architects in the Hunter Valley have reflected the region’s history with agricultural, coal mining, and manufacturing industries in their designs for the built environment. Now, construction is influenced primarily by the constraints of the landscape and weather.
As with the rest of Australia, the Hunter Valley is experiencing the impacts of climate change. Fortunately, modern technology and architectural practices ensure houses are built with temperature and weather considerations in mind for optimal comfort. Thinking of moving to the Hunter Valley? Vision Homes understand the best practice of everything you need to know about designing the optimal home for you and your family, by utilising the research into climate-responsive home design.
Importance of Climate-Responsive Home Design
Climate-responsive home design is the process of adapting architectural features to work in unison with the local climate. This style of architecture takes into account environmental elements like sunlight, wind direction, rainfall, and average temperature to inform ventilation, glass placement, and thermal construction.
While complex in execution, energy-efficient homes intend to ensure your home maintains a comfortable temperature compared to the outside weather. Appropriate ventilation and insulation systems reduce your intake of pollutants, pathogens, and noise pollution, benefiting your health and well-being.
Moreover, the built environment releases nearly 50% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. In Australia, this amounts to residential homes contributing to a quarter of the nation’s electricity use and a tenth of our national carbon emissions. Thus, the federal government has established initiatives and funding to support local councils to continue Australia’s journey to net-zero emissions. Applying more climate considerations to new homes reduces unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions, operating costs, and energy consumption.
Key Factors of Hunter Valley’s Climate Affecting Home Design
Temperature variations
The Hunter Valley’s temperatures are predicted to continue warming from climate change for the foreseeable future. There are projected to be more hot days and fewer cold nights. Generally, however, the coast is cooler than the rest of the region. In wintertime, there can be a difference of 8 °C between the Liverpool Range and the Barrington Tops compared to the coast (0–2 °C to 9–10 °C). Summers average in the low thirties, with average annual temperatures ranging from 22 to 24 °C.
Seasonal weather patterns
The Hunter Valley region experiences inconsistent weather, ranging from subtropical to temperate throughout the year. The complex weather patterns and topology of the valley (including the Liverpool Range and the Barrington Tops) cause mostly variability in rainfall. Towns closer to the coast receive higher rainfall than other areas of the Hunter region, with more rainfall in summer and autumn, and lower in the winter and spring.
Solar exposure
Controlling solar exposure is a key feature of energy-efficient home designs in Australia. Passive solar exposure, that is, orienting windows and the house to maximise daylight and heating, rather than mechanical ones, positively impacts energy-related operating costs. This means taking advantage of our vibrant and warm Australian sun during the cold winters and protecting you and your family from ultraviolet levels and glare from the sun during the warmer months, keeping you comfortable, and regulating your circadian rhythm for a good night’s sleep.
Best Building Materials for Hunter Valley’s Climate
When building your home in the Hunter Valley, ensure your architect prioritises temperature and humidity control suitability. Industry practice is steel framing and insulating under concrete slabs.
Steel frames are highly durable in extreme weather and are pest-resistant, compared to timber frames. Cutting and sealing steel accurately means less heat escapes through the joints. Although steel is a resource with a reputation for conducting heat, potentially making your house warmer in summer and colder in winter, with proper insulation, you won’t feel the difference. Moreover, the combination of the current shortage of timber trees and the recyclable nature of steel makes steel frames budget-friendly with a high sustainability value.
Similarly, did you know uninsulated concrete floors can result in losing a third of your property’s energy usage? Quality insulation under your concrete slabs ensures thermal regulation is consistent and controlled in summer and winter. While Newcastle is no longer a steelworks city, you’ll support local and future industries in building homes from the plethora of eco-friendly resources in the Hunter.
Home Design Strategies for Energy Efficiency
Paying attention to the orientation of your home is one way to optimise your surroundings for energy efficiency. Prioritise details like north-facing windows to receive sunlight from sunrise to sunset, which can keep your house warm in winter and be reduced with blinds in summer. Locate these in common areas — kitchen, living and rooms.
If you must have windows facing east or west, invest in quality blinds to provide options for comfort throughout the year; these windows receive excessive sunlight in summer, but hardly any in winter. Consider double-glazing south-facing windows due to their limited sunlight year-round.
For this reason, avoid outdoor spaces facing east or west as well. Considering the high rainfall (but summer droughts) in the Hunter Valley region, a water tank is another idea to maximise local weather patterns to save money on water bills.
Start Your Hunter Valley Home Design Today!
Any new build requires consideration, but if you’re planning on moving to the Hunter Valley, be sure to adapt aspects of the local climate into your home idea. Home design aesthetics can be sustainable and comfortable with the integration of energy-efficient influences, like construction materials, window placement, and landscaping plans.
But if all this sounds like something you may need help with, Vision Homes has the information and experience for any project. Each plot of land requires a unique inspection of the local climate to inform architectural designs. Our Hunter Valley showroom designs are adaptable to any community and weather conditions, and our expert team of architects and builders are happy to answer any questions you might have along the journey.
Contact us and start making decisions today!