Jackson Digney explains how external shading blocks summer heat while letting winter sun warm your home. Key moves: run a sun study to size overhangs correctly, add internal blinds, use landscaping on east and west sides, and build ventilated outdoor structures so heat doesn't trap.
How would you like to improve the comfort of your home all year round? Hi, my name is Jackson Digney and I'm the Managing Director and builder at Enduro Builders. With carefully considered external shading, you can do a lot to not only enhance outdoor areas but improve the energy efficiency of your home. Design of external walls Wall and window shading requires careful consideration of orientation and sun studies to make sure that it performs to improve energy efficiency. The reason for this is that you have to achieve a dual purpose. In summer, you want to shade the windows and walls from direct summer sun to reduce the amount of heat transferred into your home. On the other hand, in winter, you want to get as much sun as you can on your windows and walls to help them warm the inside of your home, saving you on energy or fuel costs for heating. Luckily, we get a bit of help from Mother Nature with this. We all notice how the days are shorter in winter than in summer. The reason for this is to do with the angle of the sun. It's essentially lower in winter, which means it takes a shorter arc through the sky, making for shorter days. This allows the sun to sneak under any constructed shading, as shown below. So what are 4 tips for making sure you have adequate shading on your new home design? Number 1, ensure that a sun study is conducted to confirm that shading runs past the edges of windows to sufficiently cover them from summer sun. 2, ensure that your budget includes internal blinds or curtains to all of your windows. 3, insist on your landscaping plan being considered as part of the overall design particularly to the east and western facades. Number 4, ensure that outdoor areas being used to assist with shading contain open sides so that they ventilate well to prevent radiant heat building up, which will pass into the house. These few tips really only scrape the surface of what can be done to adequately shade your home. If you would like a more detailed look at how to get the best out of shading your home, You can download the full guide to designing shading for your home now. In our next blog, we will give you the 5 tips to maximize the efficiency of warming your home in winter. Click the link below to download the guide now so you can save on your energy bills and live in a more comfortable home.
