During summer, a major cause of heat gain inside your home is sunlight entering through window glass. Solar energy creates heat indoors and tends to accumulate, stressing your air conditioner and raising utility costs. Therefore, lowering home heat gain at windows should focus on methods to block, filter or reflect incoming sunlight. Here are some guidelines for lowering home heat gain with creative use of window treatments:
- Awnings or overhangs to shade south- and west-facing windows can cut solar heat gain by up to 65 percent during summer. Most are water-repellant and treated to resist mildew and fading. A light-colored awning will cast off solar heat better than a dark one.
- Roll-up shades are the simplest interior method of blocking sunlight. White reflective shades are best in summer for repelling solar energy. They should be mounted on all sunlit windows so the shade material is as close to the window glass as possible when pulled down.
- Louvered shutters installed on the exterior of the window offer the option of blocking all incoming sunlight or partial amounts, depending on the setting of the louvers. They also increase security and have a role in storm protection, as well. Most exterior shutters provide a crank or other mechanism to operate the louvers from indoors.
- Mesh solar screens are made of tightly woven polyester fabric that absorbs up to 80 percent of heat energy but still admits light and provides excellent outward visibility. Mesh screens can cool rooms by up to 15 degrees by soaking up heat before it enters the window.
- Solar films apply directly to the glass to reflect wavelengths of solar energy while still admitting light. The more reflective silver, mirror-surface films are the most effective at repelling heat energy. Since solar films are permanently installed, in cold-winter climates like Colorado, consideration must be given to the fact that they also block the sun’s heat during winter.
Climate Control Company has helped western Colorado homeowners keep comfortable through every summer since 1956. Call us for more advice on creative ways of lowering home heat gain.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about lowering home heat gain and other HVAC topics, please visit our website.
Climate Control Company services Aspen, Vail and the surrounding Western slope communities in Colorado.
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