For summer conditions, a homes openings should be designed to take advantage of cooling daytime breezes and ensure cool night-time ventilation to flush out the heat of the day.

The effectiveness of built-in cross ventilation depends on placement of openings to create breeze paths with minimum obstruction. Openings in a room are best placed in opposite walls to create air movement across the room and maximise the effect in that room.

In the home overall, aim to create as many relatively obstruction-free breeze paths as possible. Where multiple breeze-paths are incorporated, effective ventilation can be achieved when wanted, irrespective of whether some doors might be closed.

Ceiling fans provide assistance to both ventilation and personal cooling in summer.

In winter, however, it is important to be able to close off areas, so that only those areas which need heating are warmed. Zones can be created by providing doors between separate open planned areas (e.g. living/dining and kitchen/family) or across corridors (e.g. to bedrooms).

Dwellings should provide an air-lock to the main entry and/or exit doors of the home because of the significant amount of conditioned air that can escape when doors are left open, even for relatively short periods.

An important feature to include when installing windows is that they can be locked in a partly open position, for ventilation and security.