Something as simple as sun screens might seem like a relatively low-tech answer to a high-tech problem. The amount of power used by modern air conditioners is almost unimaginable. A majority of newly constructed homes have AC units, and it’s becoming increasingly common even in the oldest structures.
That might explain why over 235 billion kilowatt-hours go to cool off the insides of our homes every single year. Infrared light and heat from the sun pass through even closed windows, thus making the inside of a house warmer over time. Due to a localized form of greenhouse effect, heat that gets trapped inside a home may eventually drive your AC unit to work continuously harder. By putting up a few sun screens and closing the curtains, you can potentially slash your utility costs. Here is a look at how you can reduce your utility costs by adding sun screens to your windows.
Keeping Heat Out of Your Home
When people turn the air on, they usually close up all their windows and doors. Leaving them open simply allows chilled air to vent back outside, thus making the system work less efficiently. If you make sure to close the windows but leave the curtains open, then the extra sunlight that comes into your home will still heat it up to a point. Sunlight can still enter your home even with the blinds drawn back and everything closed up.
Sophisticated outdoor awning designs cast a shadow that helps cool off your home by absorbing and reflecting some of the light. Simply stretching a good quality piece of treated canvas across your windows can slash the amount of sunlight that gets through down to a negligible amount. Depending on where you live and how much sun you get on an average day, doing this can also make it easier to see inside your home because it cuts down on glare. Getting through the morning in some southern states can be a challenge because of how much light comes blasting in through the windows. An awning can block just enough sunlight so it stays bright in your home without making it uncomfortable.
Saving Power a Little at a Time
AC units can consume more than 3,000 watts every hour, so even small reductions in usage can save quite a bit of power. Say you put up sun screens that cut down the amount your AC unit runs by around 5-10%. Since even a few percentage points of three kilowatts is a lot of energy, that will quickly start to add up.
Homeowners who prefer to leave their windows open and periodically shut their AC units completely off will love sun screens as well. These can still help keep their homes cool, so they may end up opening the windows even more often. There’s no better way to save power than completely turning off your thermostat from time to time. Though this might not work for every homeowner, it does help to illustrate just how effective something as simple as an awning can be when it comes to solving our environmental problems.
