Keep Your Cool

With energy costs on the rise, reducing your air-conditioning needs makes sense. Here’s how to do it without sacrificing comfort.

Written by Carole Ottesen

When it comes to building or buying a new house, big windows that let in plenty of light are high on everybody’s wish list. People don’t realize that the sun streaming through those windows raises the inside temperature and keeps the air-conditioner running at full tilt. “The sun is our biggest enemy,” says interior designer Lynni Megginson of L&M Designs. It can produce “an energy bill that’s close to a mortgage payment,” says Megginson, adding, “and it will also fade floors and dry rot fabrics.”

Though the size and orientation of windows vis-é-vis the sun have everything to do with the comfort level of a room, people tend not to consider them when purchasing a home. In fact, siting a house to take advantage of natural forces happens so infrequently that eminent landscape architect John Ormsbee Simonds wrote, “gophers plan their homesŠbetter than men do.” But then, gophers aren’t limited to already subdivided lots.

The Ideal

On a spacious lot with perfect orientation, says builder Griff Gosnell, president of Monroe Development Corporation, “You can maximize glass on the south side and have sufficient overhangs to shade the windows in the summer when the sun is high.” In the winter when the sun is lower on the horizon, the overhangs no longer block it, but allow it to enter and warm the house.

On a smaller lot, taking advantage of the sun’s path is not always possible. That’s where landscaping comes in.

Photo courtesy of Hunter Douglas

Layered window coverings provide maximum light
and temperature control say the experts at Rockville Interiors.

Natural Shade

The best place to plant a cooling shade tree is on the west side of the house. And one of the best trees for this purpose, says David Yost of Merrifield Garden Center, is the red maple. “It’s widely used, but for good reasons. A native, it is fast-growing, does well in our heavy soils, and has great fall color. You can’t go wrong with it.” And while you’re waiting for that maple to grow, an awning will provide instant shade.

Awnings and Window Treatments

“Awnings can control the temperature and light in and out of your house,” says Robert Martensson of Sunair Awnings of Maryland. A notion shared by Steve Monaghan at Clark Associates, who sells Sunair Awnings in Virginia, is that an awning can turn an outside area into an outdoor room.

“The ideal awning is retractable,” says Martensson. “You can extend it when you need it and then push a button, and it’s out of the way during dark days.” Being able to control light and insulation, says Megginson, can also be done with window treatments. For maximum temperature and light control, she uses layers.

Photos courtesy of Sunair Awnings

Sunair’s retractable awnings shield interiors from the sun only when needed.

”We will start with a privacy layer‹a well-measured privacy blind, a roman or roller shade. On top, we’ll layer with a decorative drapery product. We always line and do an interlining.”

“The best protection is a lined drapery,” says Joel Breslare of Mill End Shops, the semi-retired jack-of-all-trades of his family business. “Three barriers‹the drapery fabric, air space, and lining”‹keep “hot or cold air from moving through.” If heat or cold air comes in from under a short drape, he adds, “eliminate that with a long drape or, perhaps, one that puddles on the floor.”

The Skinny on Solar Films

For those who resist covering their windows with drapes, insulating shades that stack neatly out of sight work well. But for maximum openness, solar films, applied to windows, are the answer. “Very effective at controlling heat...a film reflects heat back out through the glass,“ says Chris Baccus, vice president of Atlantic Sun Control. “During the day, looking from the inside out, it’s like it’s not even there.”

Photo courtesy of Atlantic Sun Control

Invisible by day, solar films by Atlantic Sun Control cut glare and
reduce heat transfer through large windows.

“People thrive in bright, airy, cheerful environments,” says Megginson. For that reason, big windows are here to stay, but when people can control the light and heat coming through windows, she adds, “They will have the best of both worlds.”

Fan-tastic!

While solar films are cutting-edge technology, one of the oldest solutions for keeping cool is making a comeback. And it’s doing so with style.

“Ceiling fans go into all new homes today,” says Mary Early, the buyer for Burgess Lighting and Distributing in Fairfax. “And the thing that has really changed in the last five years is that fans have become much more decorative. They used to be very utilitarian; now you can get a ceiling fan to work with your whole décor.” Fan manufacturers are producing “great-looking fans you can very easily mix and match” with your furnishings. For example, adds Early, “this year Casablanca came out with a beaded cottage fan.”

Photo courtesy of Burgess Lighting and Distributing

In rooms with high ceilings, designers at Burgess Lighting and Distributing
recommend fans to move warm air up in summer and down in winter.

Fans are also popular for older homes, says Roger Woolaver, owner of Lamps Unlimited in McLean. “A lot of houses in McLean have very high ceilings,” says Woolaver. “So homeowners buy a paddle fan to move the air up (in the summer) and down (in the winter). We have people who purchase one fan as a trial and come back and buy several more. Fans are playing to rave reviews!”

Big windows are here to stay, but you don’t have to suffer outrageous cooling bills to counteract the sunshine they let in. Fans or solar film, awnings or layered drapery, maples or overhangs will work to keep you cool in Washington’s hazy, hot, and humid summer‹no matter how big your windows are.

Function Meets Fashion

Reprinted courtesy of Pella Corporation

Home personalization trends have driven the transformation of Pella® windows and doors from functional to fashionable. Ann Principe of K.C. Company Inc. explains that Designer Series windows and patio doors have room for both a shade or blind and a grille between panes of glass for the ultimate in design flexibility.

Style Options

A recent survey of homeowners found that 45 percent of Americans would change the look of a room at least once a year if they could do so simply and affordably. Pella’s newest window innovation allows homeowners to make quick transformations without damaging walls or woodwork.

Convenience Counts

Pella asked Americans how they’d least like to spend their free time and found that consumers would rather clean the bathroom sink (12 percent), a closet (17 percent) or even clean out the refrigerator (28 percent) than clean their blinds or shades (39 percent). Now, thanks to the convenience of Pella’s Designer Series collection, homeowners can reduce the drudgery of cleaning blinds or shades.

Designer Series windows also help alleviate allergy-aggravating conditions since window fashions between-the-glass stay clean and virtually dust-free.

Innovative Design

Beautiful fabric shades, which open from the top down, add to the style and convenience of the Designer Series collection. This innovation allows light in from the top, while still providing privacy.

The new Designer Series collection also features cordless operation, so there are no strings attached to blinds or shades. “Pella’s window fashions are tucked neatly between panes of glass, protected from little fingers and overzealous pets, for the ultimate in style, convenience and safety,“ says Sherri Gillette, Designer Series marketing manager, Pella.

Pella’s Designer Series shades and blinds extend to the inside edge of the window sash for the ultimate in privacy‹critical in bathrooms and bedrooms. Shades are available in light-filtering and room-darkening options.

Energy Efficient

The Designer Series collection also provides outstanding value. Double- and triple-pane glazing options keep rooms warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Pella’s between-the-glass blinds or shades can further help increase overall energy savings.