Cool Your Home with Shading Devices and Landscaping Cool Your Home with Shading Devices and Landscaping

Landscaping is a natural and beautiful way to shade your home and block the sun. A well-placed tree, bush, or vine can deliver effective shade and add to the aesthetic value of your property. When designing your landscaping, use plants native to your area that survive with minimal care.


Besides providing shade, trees and vines create a cool microclimate that dramatically reduces the temperature by as much as 9° F (5° C) in the surrounding area. During photosynthesis, large amounts of water vapor escape through the leaves, cooling the passing air. And the generally dark and coarse leaves absorb solar radiation.


Shading Devices


Exterior shading devices include awnings, louvers, shutters, rolling shutters and shades, and solar screens. Awnings are very effective because they block direct sunlight. They are usually made of fabric or metal and are attached above the window and extend down and out. A properly installed awning can reduce heat gain up to 65 percent on southern windows and 77 percent on eastern windows. A light-colored awning does double duty by also reflecting sunlight.

Maintaining a gap between the top of the awning and the side of your house helps vent accumulated heat from under a solid-surface awning. If you live in a climate with cold winters, you will want to remove awnings for winter storage, or buy retractable ones, to take advantage of winter heat gain.

The amount of drop (how far down the awning comes) depends on which side of your house the window is on. An east or west window needs a drop of 65 to 75 percent of the window height. A south-facing window only needs a drop of 45 to 60 percent for the same amount of shade. A pleasing angle to the eye for mounting an awning is 45 degrees. Make sure the awning does not project into the path of foot traffic unless it is at least 6 feet 8 inches (2 meters) from the ground.




Rolling shutters have a series of horizontal slats that run down along a track. Rolling shades use a fabric. These are the most expensive shading options, but they work well and can provide security. Many exterior rolling shutters or shades can be conveniently controlled from the inside. One disadvantage is that when fully extended, they block all light.







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