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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
A cool roof utilizes materials with high solar reflectance and thermal emittance to reflect solar energy and reduce heat gain to the home
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
Interior window attachments such as these light-filtering roller shades can reduce heat gains while providing pleasant, diffuse natural light.
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
Pleated blinds provide cooling savings in summer by blocking and reflecting sunlight, while allowing some diffuse daylight to pass through.
Right - These interior solar screens help control glare and solar heat gain while maintaining view to the outside.
Right - These retractable awnings provide shade to this outdoor living space and reduce heat gain and glare within the home.
Right – This home uses a light-colored exterior wall to reduce solar heat gain
Right – This home uses light tan stucco and white trim to reduce solar heat gain.
Right – This metal roof is being coated with a cool (high SRI) coating to reduce solar heat gain
Right – This model home for the Solar Decathlon competition incorporates vertical trellises and retractable exterior blinds to control solar heat gain.
Seven categories of exterior window shading attachments, identified on the DOE Efficient Window Coverings website.
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
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
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).
The DOE Efficient Window Coverings website identifies twelve categories of interior window shading attachments.
The Efficient Window Coverings website allows direct comparison of various window attachment types based on thermal, visual, functional, and installation and durability criteria.
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)
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
The standard asphalt shingle roof on this Florida home readily absorbs solar energy, allowing it to heat up to 140°F (60°C) as shown in the thermal image on the right
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
This home uses light-colored standard paints and finishes on siding and roofing materials to reduce cooling loads without adding material cost.
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
This simplified decision tree can help a homeowner or contractor assess how appropriate a cool roof or wall will be for a particular home
Wall surfaces having high solar reflectance and high thermal emittance will remain cooler when exposed to direct sunlight.