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Is it sunny? Is it protected from the wind? Does it have a view? What about privacy? Plan to visit a prospective site at different times of the day, and in different weather conditions. Does there seem to be good drainage? Are there swampy areas? Is the section prone to flooding? Consider also the different times of year – how much sun will it get in winter when the sun is low? Decide what is important to you as few sites are absolutely perfect in all respects. The days of buying a site and dropping a house right in the middle, minimising the excavation are over. This approach produced cold damp houses with little, orno, passive solar design. They also usually had little or no thought to windows or their placement, or the effect windows play in passive heating.
With rising energy costs, the smart approach is spending a little more now in design and construction to reap long term gains. With careful planning, this can be achieved.
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