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Small floor plan

Size, orientation, windows and rooms, with a heat-loss estimate. Learn the ideas behind it in Lesson 13: Project: a small floor plan.

Planning tool

Sketch a simple rectangular plan: size, which way it faces, where the windows go and what rooms it holds. The heat-loss estimate updates as you go.

Not sure? See Lesson 3. Data is a teaching approximation for one city per zone.
Within about 30° of south keeps most passive solar benefit.
Rooms

Rooms add up to 590 of 640 sq ft, leaving 50 sq ft for walls and circulation.

Kitchen and living300 sq ftBedroom130 sq ftBathroom60 sq ftMudroom and …60 sq ftMechani…40 sq ftS ↓32 ft × 20 ft · blue = windows · south at the bottom
Plan sketch
Text description

Floor plan, 32 by 20 feet (640 sq ft). The long side faces due south, at the bottom of the drawing. Windows: south 60 sq ft, east 15, west 15, north 10. Rooms: Kitchen and living 300 sq ft, Bedroom 130 sq ft, Bathroom 60 sq ft, Mudroom and storage 60 sq ft, Mechanical (water heater, battery) 40 sq ft.

  • 60% of the glass faces south. Good for winter sun in the northern US.
  • Windows equal 16% of the floor area. Above roughly 12% to 15%, many homes overheat on sunny days without extra thermal mass and shading.
  • Keep the water heater, bathroom and kitchen close together to keep pipe runs short.

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A planning estimate, not a design. Take it to a qualified professional before you buy or build.