Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 5.5
Pergola
wind to actually speed up coming through the opening. Plants trees or park an RV
between your house and the direction of the winter prevailing winds. In the summer
time you want to take advantage of the
venturi
effect to create wind tunnels around
objects placed in between your house and the direction of the summer prevailing
winds [15]. Even small plants around your home are beneficial to cooling. They
absorb heat as the air passes over them. Also, they block the reflective effects of
harder surfaces that heat up quickly in the summer.
Solar heating effects are also different in winter and summer. The sun's path is
further to the south in the winter. So, you want to expose your south facing windows
to allow sunlight in. Expose east and west facing windows as well to absorb as much
solar heating as possible in the winter. In the summer, you want to shade your east
and west facing windows, especially the west facing ones to block the sun's rays.
As nice as it might be to sit and watch a beautiful sunset, it may also be over heating
your home. My home has its own natural shading to the west with large nut trees
blocking the sun as it sets. An awning over my large west facing sunroom windows
would help block the sun in late afternoon and create an even more comfortable
environment. Some people build pergolas over their west facing windows and decks
to create shade. Pergolas are structures, usually made from wood, that act like a
roof over an area except that it is not completely covered. The pergola allows some
sunlight in but blocks the majority of it. Sometimes people plant creeping vines on
them to create even more cooling effect. Wisteria is a great creeping vine that cov-
ers pergolas well. Figure
5.5
shows a pergola from a great article on how to build a
pergola on the Handmade Home web site (www.thehandmadehome.net) [16].
Solar screens are also an effective way to block the sun's rays and keep your
home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. These specially made win-
dow screens block 60 to 70 % of the heat coming in through the window and actu-
ally hold heat in during the winter. They cost about $ 50.00 per window. Be sure
to get screens made with a durable totally aluminum frame of at least 0.44 gauge
aluminum [4]. These screens present a great opportunity to measure your energy
consumption on the day before you install them and then on the day after to see if
there is a difference. Of course, you want to pick two nearly identical hot summer
