How Awnings Can Contribute To Zero Cooling And Heating Costs

Window treatments aren't just meant to conceal your home interior or serve an aesthetic purpose. Fittings such as awnings can also significantly contribute to energy savings within the home. Home owners can benefit from reduced heat loss during winter, as well as less heat gain during summer.

In order to truly appreciate the role of window treatments ion energy saving, you first need to be aware of how big an issue heating is in Australian homes.

How Big Is The Issue Of Heating In Australian Homes?

A 2008 report by the Australian Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) provides a clear outline of the energy use within Australian homes. Apparently, heating and cooling costs accounted for the largest proportion of energy use, at approximately 40%. This is significantly higher than the energy use by appliances and equipment, including refrigeration and cooking (33%), water heating (21%), and lighting (6%).

The only reason why you wouldn't notice this high energy consumption for heating and cooling is because such heating uses gas. You should also not neglect the fact that such energy use creates environmentally-harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Why should you opt to use costly mechanical means of heating and cooling your home, when you can just as easily cancel out such costs with good housing design and installation of appropriate fittings?

How Much Can Awnings Contribute?

Now that you understand the scope of Australia's heating woes, you might be asking yourself, just how much can a simple window treatment help? Well, the U.S. Department of Energy reveals that awnings can help reduce solar heat gain by approximately 65% on south-facing windows, whereas windows with western exposures can benefit from a 77% reduction.

Moreover, Planet Green reveals that such reduction in solar heat gain can potentially reduce cooling energy costs by approximately 26% in hot climates. On the other hand, temperate climates would get an even greater energy saving, ranging from 33% to 100%. That means you wouldn't need any air conditioning at all.

The Solution

Your Home Recommends utilizing good design and appropriate installations to avoid unnecessary heating and cooling costs. This would involve such aspects as proper insulation, passive solar design and draught-proofing your house. Indeed, when fully applied, these design features can completely cancel out the need for mechanical heating and cooling within Australian homes.

A good window treatment would consist of an awning that shades each window or even the entire side of a building. For this purpose, you must only select opaque and tightly woven deigns. Furthermore, light-colored options will also help to reflect more sunlight.

The most effective designs will have grommets (eyelets) along the top and sides to provide ventilation. Alternatively, it may allow venting of hot air with top or side openings. Modern designs are quite resistant to weathering, featuring water-repellant acrylic and polyvinyl laminates with mildew- and fading-resistant treatments.

Fortunately, you can install retractable or adjustable designs, which can be easily rolled up in winter to let in the warm sun. You also have a choice of varied designs and colors suited to whatever look you want to create for your house.


----------------------------------------------------
Andrew has had a long and successful career within the home improvement industry. He regularly shares some of the best insights that home owners often overlook. Expect to get this from Elite Home Improvements website at http://www.ehiaustralia.com.au/awnings .