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Analyse the climate and pick a passive strategy

Passive design means the building form, windows, mass and insulation do most of the heating and cooling for free. The right strategy depends on whether your climate needs mostly heating, mostly cooling, or both, and on the daily temperature swing.

How

1. Get local monthly averages of daily maximum and minimum temperature, humidity, rainfall and prevailing wind directions from your national weather service.
2. Work out the daily temperature swing (maximum minus minimum) for the hottest and coldest months. Your Home (Australia) suggests low mass where the swing is consistently 6 C or less, moderate mass for about 6 to 10 C, and high mass where it is over 10 C.
3. Decide if the climate is heating-led (cold, temperate), cooling-led (tropical humid, hot arid summers) or mixed (mediterranean, hot arid with cold nights).
4. Write a one-page strategy: heating-led means maximise winter sun, insulation and airtightness; cooling-led means shade every wall, capture breezes and limit sun-facing glass; mixed means balance both with movable shading.
5. Record the true solar direction (true south in the northern hemisphere, true north in the southern) and correct compass readings for local magnetic variation.
6. Note solar access obstructions (hills, trees, neighbours) that would shade the sun-facing wall between 9 am and 3 pm in winter.

Do these first

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Sources

1. Thermal mass. Your Home, Australian Government, accessed 2026-11
2. Consumer Guide to Passive Solar Home Design. US Department of Energy, Energy Saver, accessed 2026-11
3. Orientation. Your Home, Australian Government, accessed 2026-11
4. Passive design. Your Home, Australian Government, accessed 2026-11

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