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Shading House
Design Your Home with Shading Ideas
Shading and insulation are closely related home design ideas. Both deal with heat loss and a passive temperature control. The purpose of house shading is to reduce summer temperatures, improve comfort and save energy. Therefore, green home design and energy efficient homes must incorporate home shading. There are two general types of shading (both inexpensive if used wisely!):
- External Shading
- Plants/Landscape Design
There is a third indirect method to reduce unwanted sunrays - the house orientation. However, the house position is not an easy and cheap way to reduce the heat.
Home Design in Australia Needs External Shading
In Australia, the external home shading is a must. We need to reduce heat passively to give our air condition (or evaporative cooling) that deserved break.
Deep verandahs and balconies shade well the eastern and western elevations. Pergolas are fantastic to provide comfort, lifestyle and shading structure at the same time.
The pergolas with creeping plants superbly shade and regulate temperature seasonally. Shutters and blinds are great to adjust light and heat inside the rooms.
Pergolas, awnings, louvres, eaves and shutters are regarded as a fixed shading. Home design plans in Australia incorporate those items to regulate temperature passively.
However, it is not easy to passively control the sun in all climates and altitudes. We want to let the winter sun and block the summer rays without changing the building structure.
Home building experts should provide you with design details for your climatic condition, such as:
- Location of the sun during winter relative to your home windows
- Location of the sun during summer relative to your home windows
- Amount of sunlight creeping into your home during all seasons
(before and after fixed shading is employed)
Finally, the glazing solution for windows further reduces the excessive light. Double glazing is excellent to retain heat in colder climates. Please be aware that tinted glass may prevent desired winter sun. Thus, north facing windows should not be tinted in colder parts of Australia (unless your house must resemble a cool Ferrari).
Landscape Design Can Provide Good Shading
A smart landscape design can shade buildings and reduce glare. General rule of thumb is to:
- Use evergreen plants in hot and humid climates
- Use deciduous vines and trees to the north for all other climates
- Use deciduous or evergreen trees to the east and west for all other climates
Plants are perfect to absorb heat. Sunrays are actually plants' "bread and butter" (thus plants are perfect to reduce heat).
In Australia landscape design incorporates drought tolerant plants. These ground covering plant use little water and prevent re-radiation of heat.
Trees can be difficult in landscape design. They grow slowly but they shade effectively.
Deciduous plants are great for mild, non-humid climates. They prevent summer sun and let winter sun into the house.
Evergreen trees are efficient to block sun in hot and humid climates. These plants also control humidity by absorbing an excess moisture.
Ask landscape design experts if in doubt. Plant wisely to have shade, comfort and beauty around your house.
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