3 Practical Ways to Reduce Heat from the Outside Sun

Air conditioning is used today to battle extreme heat, it is indeed a marvelous creation. Even if you have air conditioning, blasting it at full capacity 24/7 is going to cost you a lot and may even not achieve the desired results. People throughout the ages used to battle heat in many innovative ways; Romans used their architecture, aqueducts circulating cold water through the buildings; an emperor used his influence to move a mountain of snow in his garden, he used donkey trains to transport all this snow.

You don’t need to move mountains or build aqueducts in your home. It has become very easy today to make sure that the heat of the sun stays outside and to ventilate any heat from the inside to the outside. We will be reviewing the most practical ways to make sure that those rays don’t get the best of you.

1. Double-pane insulated glass windows

Glass isn’t the best insulator when it comes to heat, this is why installing single-pane glass windows won’t keep any outdoor temperature out. Double-pane windows are basically 2 layers of glass that sandwich air or glass inside to ensure that the heat transfer process is as slow as possible.

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It is preferable that the gas inside the double-pane windows is either Argon or Krypton, since they’re much denser than air and will cause a much higher rate of heat-loss. You will notice the difference between the price tags of single-pane and double-pane windows, double-panes are indeed more expensive, yet you will save a lot more on your energy bills.

2. Allow some light in style

People’s idea of tinted glass is pre-occupied by the tinted glass for cars, what many don’t know is that you can tint your residential home glass as well. Unfiltered sun rays can wreak havoc on your furniture and rugs, causing a breakdown in their colors and materials. When we’re talking about energy bills and cost reduction, home window tinting is the best way to ensure that you’re paying less and saving more.

Window tinting also adds some protection to your glass in case it’s under the risk of being broken, even if it breaks, it shatters into safe glass blocks instead of sharp shards. You’ll be getting natural sunlight that’s 99.9% filtered of harmful UV rays.

3. Shades

What can make stylish windows, even look better is some stylish shades to go with it. Shades aren’t all about the looks, they add an extra layer of insulation so no heat could get in easily. Some drapes and Holland blinds can restrict a lot of heat from getting in, thanks to their tight seal around the windows.

When combined with tinted or double-pane glass, the results are magnificent in terms of blocking the heat from the sun. The best thing about them is that they can be manual or motorized to suit your needs in the different times of day.

Bottom Line

Thanks to the technology and investments in the window manufacturing industry, it’s become very easy to keep the heat out and keep the natural light in. You may be overwhelmed with the number of options you can choose to secure your house from the heat; but it’s hard to go wrong with tinted glass thanks to their practicality and cheap cost.

Salman Zafar

Salman Zafar is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of EcoMENA. He is a consultant, ecopreneur and journalist with expertise across in waste management, renewable energy, environment protection and sustainable development. Salman has successfully accomplished a wide range of projects in the areas of biomass energy, biogas, waste-to-energy, recycling and waste management. He has participated in numerous conferences and workshops as chairman, session chair, keynote speaker and panelist. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management and environmental sustainability across the globe Salman Zafar can be reached at salman@ecomena.org

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