Won’t the house overheat in summer?
Since our movable awning will prevent most of the June and July sunshine from entering the home at all, summer isn’t the problem. October is the problem month – the month when the sun is low enough to come under the awnings and yet the outside temperature isn’t cold enough to keep the house cool (given our high levels of insulation, especially). We’ve mitigated the overheating risk by adding 10-12 tonnes of concrete per floor as thermal mass. Since the concrete is directly exposed to the living space, it absorbs excess heat relatively quickly. This should make the living space more comfortable on a sunny October day when it’s 12 degrees outside. Furthermore, the movable awning will hopefully shade our windows in October more than a fixed awning would, further decreasing overheating.
