Dark colors generally absorb heat from sunlight, whereas light surfaces reflect heat and reduce cooling costs. This is particularly true for roofing materials such as light-colored tile and metal, now available with solar reflectances up to 75%. Try to place most of the home’s glass area within 20 degrees of due south or north.Ĭhoosing roofing and siding colors with good solar reflectance (25% or more) can result in tangible cooling energy savings. Design to minimize west and east glass and wall surface, and shade it. Although the amount of radiant heat at west and east exposures is the same, west is most important to protect, because it occurs during the hottest time of the day. The ideal is to include a shaded area on the north side for summer use and an area on the south side for winter use.Īdditional informational about exterior architectural design impacting energy efficiency is available here.ĭesign to minimize solar heat gain: West- and east-facing glass can have nearly five times the solar heat gain of north-facing glass, and more than triple that of south-facing glass. Supplement a compact house design with porches, patios, or other planned outdoor areas to extend the living space outside the conditioned space. Placing the washer, dryer, and freezer outside of conditioned space can reduce cooling loads even further. Locating kitchens and living areas for northern or southern exposures can provide a lot of natural daylight without a lot of heat gain. Kitchens and laundry rooms typically have house heat-producing appliances, so don’t place them on the west side to avoid compounding the afternoon heat buildup. Open planning saves on room clearance and pathways while making areas appear and feel larger. Space-efficient design with open planning can help save energy by reducing the overall size of a house. As compact the plan is to a square (or circle), the less exposed surface area there is for the same living area. Overall house design: The more surface area the building envelope has the more is the heat gain and loss. In winter it can be helpful to deflect cold north winds over or around the house with an evergreen barrier. Small shrubs, ground cover, and non-reflective mulches keep the area around the house cooler and reduce reflected heat. Pavement reflects and radiates heat that it absorbs from the sun.
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