Architects at the Los Angeles Community Design Center felt it should be possible to design Energy Efficient Low Income Housing in Southern California that does not need air conditioning. The Orange Grove project in Pasadena incorporated a number of features designed to keep indoor air temperatures within the comfort range. Critical to this were Whole House Fans which would bring in up to 20 air changes per hour during the cooler evenings whenever daytime temperatures were above the comfort range. During the early design phase a careful analysis was made of indoor air temperatures calculated by HEED (Home Energy Efficient Design) that showed they would always fall within the comfort range as defined by ASHRAE Standard 55.
Murray Milne, Research Professor Department of Architecture and Urban Design UCLA Los Angeles, CA 90095 milne@ucla.ed