Free TCE Housing and Design Flashcard Review
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Cool temperate design: the core strategy in one line
Admit low winter sun to the north, store its heat in thermal mass, and keep it in with insulation, double glazing and draught control, while shading out high summer sun.
Hot humid (tropical) design: the core strategy in one line
Keep sun off the whole building all year, maximise breezes with cross-flow and stack ventilation, and use lightweight, low-mass, elevated construction that cools quickly at night.
Which Information Sheet cities are cool temperate?
Hobart, Launceston, Canberra and Bendigo. Darwin and Townsville are the hot humid (tropical) cities.
Thermal comfort
The condition in which occupants feel neither too hot nor too cold, affected by air temperature, radiant temperature, air movement and humidity as well as clothing and activity.
Why is humidity a design problem in Darwin and Townsville?
High humidity stops sweat evaporating, so the body cannot cool itself; air movement across the skin is the main passive relief, which is why ventilation dominates tropical design.
Name three cool-climate strategies that are wrong in the tropics
Thermal mass slabs and walls, bulk-insulated sealed envelopes and double glazing used to trap heat; examiners penalise carrying them into hot humid answers.
Section A structure in the TASC exam
Answer one of two questions (one Cool Temperate, one Hot Humid (Tropical)) in about 60 minutes on an A3 sheet; it supplies the Criterion 3 rating.
What does Criterion 3 assess?
Analysing and applying features and principles that contribute to environmental sustainability within design decisions, i.e. passive solar design.
The six features the Criterion 3 footnote says must be covered
Orientation (with sun angle diagrams), window type and placement (with window area percentage calculation), thermal mass, insulation, ventilation and landscaping.
Active energy (course glossary)
Energy that must change form to be used, losing some in the process; the course example is burning wood.
Passive energy (course glossary)
Energy used in its original form, such as breezes cooling a house or sunlight warming a floor.
Passive solar design (course glossary)
Using passive energy to warm or cool a home through the building's orientation, form, materials and openings.
Is a rooftop solar PV system active or passive?
Active under the course definition, because light is converted into electricity before it can be used.
Give two active and two passive energy examples for a house
Active: wood heater, heat pump. Passive: north-facing glazing heating a slab; cross-breezes cooling a tropical living room.
Best building shape and orientation for a cool temperate site
Elongated plan with the long axis east–west, so the longest wall and most glazing face north.
Acceptable range for north orientation
Within roughly 15–20° of true north still gives good winter gain; beyond that, morning or afternoon summer sun becomes harder to control.
Which rooms go on the north in a cool temperate plan?
Day-use living zones: kitchen, living and dining. The 2025 marking tool expects northern zoning of living areas unless justified otherwise.
Which rooms suit the south side of a cool temperate plan?
Short-stay service rooms such as bathroom, laundry, storage and garage, which act as a thermal buffer.
What to do when a tall object sits on the north boundary
Calculate its winter noon shadow (height ÷ tan of the winter angle) and set the house south of the shadow, or justify replacing the obstruction.
Winter noon shadow of a 5 m object in Hobart
5 ÷ tan 24° ≈ 11.2 m.