Showing results 1 - 42 of 42
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These folding louvered porch doors provide effective shade from low-angle east and west sunlight and can open for views; the photovoltaic panels overhead allow in filtered natural light
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A cool roof utilizes materials with high solar reflectance and thermal emittance to reflect solar energy and reduce heat gain to the home
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A resilient home with storm shutters, a sump pump that drains to a french drain, rainwater collection, solar thermal and PV, and raised garden beds.
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A self-sufficient water system for a home could include a rooftop cistern and solar thermal water heater.
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A thermosiphon solar hot water system heats a fluid in the solar collector; the heated fluid heats potable water in a roof top tank.
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In midsummer, the roof and skylights will receive much more solar radiation per square foot than an unshaded east- or west-facing wall, which in turn will receive more solar energy than north- or south-facing walls
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Interior window attachments such as these light-filtering roller shades can reduce heat gains while providing pleasant, diffuse natural light.
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Light colors have been used on exterior walls and roofs to keep buildings cooler in hot climates for centuries, as shown by this traditional building in Morocco, built in the early 1800s
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Permanent options for keeping sun off windows to minimize solar heat gain include permanent overhangs and awnings, frames, and louvers.
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Pleated blinds provide cooling savings in summer by blocking and reflecting sunlight, while allowing some diffuse daylight to pass through.
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Removable options for keeping sun off windows to minimize solar heat gain include awning, retractable and swinging shutters, interior or exterior curtains.
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Right - In hot climates, paint flat roofs light colors to reflect solar heat gain.
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Right – This home uses a light-colored exterior wall to reduce solar heat gain
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Right – This home uses light tan stucco and white trim to reduce solar heat gain.
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Right – This metal roof is being coated with a cool (high SRI) coating to reduce solar heat gain
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Right – This model home for the Solar Decathlon competition incorporates vertical trellises and retractable exterior blinds to control solar heat gain.
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Seven categories of exterior window shading attachments, identified on the DOE Efficient Window Coverings website.
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Side by side comparisons of standard roofing colors (top row) and cool colors (bottom row) shows that solar reflectance (R) can be reduced significantly using special coatings with almost no change to the color
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Sun paths through the sky in winter, spring, summer, and fall show that a home receives the most sun from the south in the winter and from the east/west in the summer
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The cool shingles on the right have been coated with a ceramic coating to reflect near-infrared radiation, resulting in a cooler roof as shown by these thermal images (red and yellow are hotter, green and blue are cooler).
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The DOE Efficient Window Coverings website identifies twelve categories of interior window shading attachments.
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The Efficient Window Coverings website allows direct comparison of various window attachment types based on thermal, visual, functional, and installation and durability criteria.
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The existing dark tile roof on this home (top photo) was covered with a light -colored coating on day 6 (middle photo), resulting in a significant reduction in attic temperature and cooling energy consumption (bottom)
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The IR image on the right shows the sun is heating the southeast-facing wall of this concrete-block house to 36C (97F); this corner of the home would not be a good place for a cool room due to lack of shading and insulation
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The white TPO membrane roof on the row house on the right performs extremely well at reflecting solar energy and maintaining cool surface temperatures while the black EPDM membrane roof on the left heats up rapidly in the sunlight
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These two battery storage modules are charged by a 6 kW solar PV system during daytime hours and provide 27 kWh of whole house backup electricity storage
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This search for metal roofing products on the CRRC Rated Roof Products Directory highlights the initial and 3-year aged SRI values for each product
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Wall surfaces having high solar reflectance and high thermal emittance will remain cooler when exposed to direct sunlight.
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Water management detail for a solar panel rack mounting block installed in rigid foam that was installed over an existing roof