During the summer, cooling your house at an affordable rate can seem like a nearly impossible task. Running your air conditioner is pretty much the only way to bring temperatures down, and the energy costs of your a/c can get to be incredibly high. You might close your windows to reduce the amount of heat coming from the sun, but that means you have to run your artificial lights for longer. If you try to save money with curtains, you end up spending more money on lighting. It seems like everything you do has an equal and opposite reaction. So, how do you keep your house cool without spending more money on lighting or your air conditioner?
Screen Your Windows
Windows are what is known as thermal bridges. A thermal bridge is anywhere in your home that allows heat to pass through, hence the name. Windows, doors, and raised floors are very common thermal bridges. Insulation is designed to prevent thermal bridging, but not every part of your house is insulated. For example, your windows are not insulated.
A glazed window could help. These are windows that have two panes which are separated either by a pillow of air or by a vacuum. That helps reduce the amount of heat that’s allowed to transfer. However, the biggest problem is that light coming through the window warms up your house. It warms up the air and everything it touches. You have to then run your air conditioner for longer to try to keep your house a comfortable temperature. Cutting the amount of heat that comes through the window is the best way to reduce the money you have to spend to keep your house cool.
How a Screen Helps
Trusted roller screen suppliers offer a very simple solution to your heating and cooling problems. A screen that rolls down over your window will cut a lot of the light coming through your window without actually eliminating it. A curtain that blocks light will help reduce your cooling costs, but it will also block most light from coming in. The light will still get into your house and heat up your curtains, which will heat up your room somewhat. A screen on the outside of the window reduces the amount of light that ever reaches your window, so your window doesn’t heat up.
A screen doesn’t completely eliminate light coming into your house; it just lowers it to a manageable level. That manageable amount of light should be enough that you don’t have to turn on all the lights in your house during the day. Keeping some lights off will reduce your energy costs even further.
You should invest in roller screens because they are much more adaptable than stationary screens. If your screen rolls up and down, you’re able to adjust the amount of light coming into your house. For example, you can reduce your heating costs as well. If it starts to get cold outside, you can roll up your screen and allow more light into your house. The light that you were keeping out all summer could be what helps to warm your house during the winter.