How To Reduce Cooling Needs

Thinking about redecorating some rooms in your house

, or maybe a bigger and more extensive renovation project?

If so, then you should keep in mind the impact of the sun and solar energy on your home.

Right now, there's really not much you can do about the orientation of your home, but what you can do is to manage its features so that solar energy doesn't drive your cooling costs through the roof.

If your home is greatly affected by heat during warm months, always remember to shut the blinds on the side of the house where the sun is striking. Unless you have low-e windows that block the sunlight as it passes through glass, which is actually converted to heat if you don't have one, your home will be much cooler if the sunlight is stopped at the window. Low-e windows are double paned and contain a thin metallic coating that blocks some of the UV and infrared light, reflecting the heat back toward its source so that your home stays warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

If you don't have good blinds on sun drenched windows, then install or replace them. Mini blinds are easy to install with just a screwdriver. You need to measure the width of your windows first, both the glass and the entire frame. You can purchase blinds that are a little wider to fit the frame but at the very least you can buy one that is as wide as the glass portion of the window. They're an inexpensive way to keep out the heat, avoid ordering custom blinds.

Because many houses actually have more or larger windows in the front, it is possible that you have a house that is facing west and that you're being baked by the evening sun going through your front windows. While blinds will keep out the light and most of the heat, they may make you feel too closed in, especially if your main living area is at the front of the house.

There are two options to help make your living space more enjoyable if you have a covered front porch. A cheap fix is to install outdoor blinds on your porch, which will keep the sun out of the windows and off the front wall as well. If your porch is small, you might consider extending it further from the house, so that the porch roof provides shade for the front of the house during the hottest times of the day.

You can do the same thing for your back porch if it is also sunny there. Think about installing an awning for decks and patios, if they don't offer any shade, even when it's needed. Growing in popularity, retractable awnings, are great protectors from rain or sun when you want it, or be hidden away against the house to allow the sun in and avoid damaging winds. Fixed awnings are also an option, if you want the area covered all the time.

Used for shading windows and doors where solar heating is a problem, awnings can be color coordinated with metal roofs, shutters, or trim to cut cooling expenses by as much as 20 percent.

by: Erin Blackwell.

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