Designs That Work

Hot-Humid Climate - Lake Charles

Introduction - Climate Specific Design

Houses should be designed to suit their environments. In the home-building industry, we have accepted that design and construction must be responsive to varying seismic risks, wind loads and snow loads. We also consider soil conditions, frost depth, orientation and solar radiation. Yet we typically ignore the variances in temperature, rainfall, exterior and interior humidity and their interaction.

The Habitat Congress Building America houses are designed for a specific hygro-thermal region, rain exposure and interior climate. This means that the building enclosure and mechanical systems that are recommended in this package are generally suited to the Hot-Humid climate region. You can find a description of the North American annual rainfall and hygro-thermal regions on the climate maps that follow. Notice that while there are similarities between regions, there are also differences. It is cold and dry in Wyoming; it is cold and somewhat wet in Wisconsin. Local climate may also differ significantly from the regional climate descriptions, and if so, the differences must be addressed when implementing the house design provided here.