Air conditioning works to cool your home by removing heat from its air. This means that any heat your home gains adds to the work the air conditioner must do to keep your home comfortable. To limit your energy costs, steps should be taken to minimize the heat gain that occurs in your home.
One of the main ways heat finds a way into your home is through its windows. Any sunlight that enters through your home’s windows will contribute heat directly to the interior of your home, and the UV radiation can damage furniture and fabrics. These problems can be addressed with coatings that can be applied to windows, which will prevent a significant portion of the heat and UV radiation present in sunlight from making it through into the interior.
Another way to limit heat gain is by shading windows from sunlight. This can be accomplished by closing shutters, blinds, shades and curtains when the sun is shining, but these also block out the natural light and exterior view. If you want to avoid this, awnings could be a good choice. Awnings block windows from direct sunlight but still allow for diffuse light to enter and for a view to the exterior.
Perhaps the best option for providing shade in the Greater Cleveland area is with deciduous landscaping. Not only can the shade of a well-placed tree keep sunlight from shining through your windows, it can limit the heat gain experienced by portions of the exterior structure. Sunlight on the exterior of your home isn’t as bad since the heat still has to make it through your home’s insulation, but shading still helps. However, the main reason deciduous trees are such a good option has to do with the fact that they lose their leaves in the autumn. In the winter, sunlight shining through your windows is actually beneficial because it helps heat your home.
For more advice on options for lowering your summer energy bills by reducing your home’s heat gain, please contact us at Stack Heating & Cooling. We’ve provided exceptional services to residents of the Greater Cleveland area since 1976.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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