Residential Home Design: Detailed 3 Bedroom Net Zero Energy Home

This project details the design of a 3-bedroom residential home with the primary objective of achieving net-zero energy consumption. The house features a well-planned layout including a lounge, dining kitchen, master bedroom with en-suite, two additional bedrooms sharing a wet utility area, and a two-car parking area. Key design considerations include maximizing natural light and ventilation, with large windows and open spaces such as the kitchen and dining area. The design incorporates features such as a swimming pool, a wash area, and an emphasis on acoustic treatments in the walls to minimize noise transmission. Furthermore, the roof design is optimized for rainwater harvesting and the installation of solar panels. The design aims for sustainability through the use of natural light, ventilation, and renewable energy sources. The document includes references to relevant literature on building design and sustainable practices.

Introductio
n
This is a simple 3 bedroomed residential home that
offers great ambience and peace to all its users. My
main design objective was to achieve a net zero
energy home.

General Floor Plan
The house is a well planned house that is
composed of a lounge, dining kitchen, 3
bedrooms ( one is a master bedroom that is
en-suite and the other two share the wet
utilities. The residential also boasts of a car
parking that can accommodate two cars at
a ago.
This house also has a washing area that is
at the back of the house and its open.
A swimming pool at the front of the house
sums up all about the contents of the
residential home.
The lounge is the first room you get
into once you access the house
from the entrance porch.
The lounge is spacious enough to
allow for different arrangement of
the couches and still allow for
smooth circulation into and out of
the house.
Lounge
The lounge is characterised by a
change in level that creates
room for more ceiling height
which creates room for more air
circulation which in turn makes
the room to be more habitable.

Kitchen & Dining
The kitchen is well spaced to
allow for ease of movement for
the users of the space. The
kitchen has a direct opening to
the outside which can be used
as an emergency door. The
kitchen also has a big window
which ensures that the kitchen
receives sufficient ventilation
from the outside.
The kitchen has a direct opening to
dining which creates visual continuity
thus making the user of the kitchen feel
like the space is big enough.
The dining has a dining table that can
accommodate 6 persons at the same
time with each user having enough
room.
The dining has got cabinets which serve
as a secondary storage for the kitchen
and cutlery and other kitchen
equipment can be stored there.
There is a direct access from the
dining to the lounge. This open
doors are more cost friendly as
compared to closed doors
The kitchen is fully fitted with a
cooker, storage cabinets and a sink.

Master Bedroom
Unlike the master bedroom these two bedroom
have a shared wet utility area. The rooms are very
spacious with each room having a wardrobe on the
walls joining the two. These wardrobes play a key
role in the room acoustic since they absorb noise
preventing it from getting to the next room.
The walls adjacent to the lounge and wet area are
to be treated acoustically also to prevent the
movement of sound through them.
The room adjacent to the lounge enjoys beautiful
views of the front of the house and the swimming
pool as well.
The master bedroom is very spacious
and also has a big window that capture
a good view to the front of the house.
The walls of the master will be treated
acoustically to absorb any noise that
will be coming from the bedroom to the
lounge and the reverse.
Bedroom
The master bedroom is the most prime room in
this residential home. Firstly, it is totally
secluded from the other two bedrooms. Second,
it has a walk in closet that is very spacious.
The master room also boasts of a private wet
area.

Car Parking
The house shall have a car parking area
that can comfortably carry two cars. The
parking is just beside the master
bedroom and it has a single plane roof at
a pitch of 5 degrees. Its wall at the back
are louvered to allow for maximum
ventilation.
The door fixed is a roller shutter door
that ensures maximum security for the
cars in the parking area.
Wash Area
the swimming pool is located at the front yard of the
house. It creates part of the front yard landscape
hence enhancing the beauty of the home.
Swimming
Pool.
The wash area is located outside the
house just beside the kitchen yard. It has
two sinks where laundry activities can be
carried out from. This design discourages
the use of washing machines though
they make work easier.

Elevation
The elevation has been made
appealing by the use of interesting
corner mouldings and as neatly done
fissure boards.
The house has good sized windows
that enhance the elevation. The
windows provide for interesting
views from the house to the outside.
The windows allow for maximum use
of natural light during the day they
also ensure the use of natural
ventilation within the different rooms
in the house.
Left side elevation
Front Elevation

Elevation Cont’
The pitch also helps in cooling of the
house since it traps hot air that might
make users of the house uncomfortable.
The roof comes out as a very strong
elevation feature for the house. Firstly,
it enhances the general outlook of the
house
The roof offers a very good platform for
the harvesting of the rain water which
can be used for different purposes like
flashing the toilets, washing clothes and
also watering of lawns and flower beds.
The roof also gives us a space to install
solar panels for the harvesting of
maximum sunlight which is then
converted to solar energy which can be
used in the place of electric energy.
Rear Elevation
Right Side Elevation

References
 Tan, X., Hammad, A. and Fazio, P., 2010.
Automated code compliance checking for building
envelope design. Journal of Computing in Civil
Engineering, 24(2), pp.203-211.
 Lee, S. and Ha, M., 2013. Customer interactive
building information modeling for apartment unit
design. Automation in Construction, 35, pp.424-
430.
 Arayici, Y., Coates, P., Koskela, L., Kagioglou, M.,
Usher, C. and O'reilly, K., 2011. Technology
adoption in the BIM implementation for lean
architectural practice. Automation in
construction, 20(2), pp.189-195.