Concept

Locate your entrance away from prevailing winds, and minimize the wide spread of cold air when entering with a vestibule or cold basin (entrance at the bottom of a full or half set of stairs, so the cold air stays at the bottom).

Another aspect of Entrance is: How many to have? For safety purposes, doors on opposite sides of the house are important, but beyond two you are adding a thermal weak spots (typically 20 square feet with an R-value of about 5 and seals that will often leak and fail over time).

Application

This is quite simple for us - we will have just one primary entrance. Almost all entering the house will come in via the garage or the front door. In both cases, this is through a small porch where wet clothes and shoes can be removed before entering the home – the Active Area.

Incidentally, a little fresh air from outside is nice, but less is better. Air quality is assured mechanically – see Ventilation.

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