After the pandemic has hit us all terribly, people have become serious regarding sustainable living and helping the environment stay healthy. It is a very way to move ahead in life. This ideology will help every person around you and will be beneficial in the long run.

Similarly, when it comes to designing your home, an energy-efficient and sustainable lifestyle can help. Here we will be discussing diminishing the solar heat attainment in summers and maximizing sunlight and solar heat gain in winters. The most efficient method to balance these requirements is by carefully understanding the directions of predominant winds and the orientation of numerous shading devices.

The shading devices that we have mentioned below are vital to passive solar design. Nevertheless, they’re not constantly the most gracefully attractive. Although, it’s feasible to build a design that’s equally pretty and effective. Below are the best ways to shield windows and openings as in some cities like Dallas and Phoenix, sheils and sunscreens are important. 

Horizontal Louvers and Jalousies

One of the best ways to minimize direct sunlight is Horizontal louvers and jalousies. Do you know the fact that they were initially designed in France approximately a hundred years ago but still look amazing and help in controlling the direct sunlight in your room? Mostly they are made of wood that helps avoid the use of plastic, leading to a sustainable lifestyle. 

People who are living in California and Arizona need to think about making their houses more relaxed because of the heated summers. They can add extra reflective material on the slats for better control of direct sunlight so that the months that are hotter in such areas can be more cool and comfortable.

Vertical Baffles

Not as common as horizontal louvers, but vertical baffles have their own personality. They look fantastic and don’t hinder the beauty of your room. Similarly, like horizontal louvers, they maintain the flow of air in the room but control the heating effect of direct sunlight.They can also support views to the exterior.

Nonetheless, the track and angle of the sun are unexpected; in such cases, vertical baffles work best on the east and west exteriors of a building. Actually, several studies have demonstrated that vertical louvers are ameliorated to reduce sun glare than horizontal louvers. But both are known as one of the most efficient ways to shade the windows. People who live in the hottest places in the US like Dallas or Phoenix use sunscreens to reduce the direct sunlight. That’s the reason, if you are living in any of these cities you get sunscreens phoenix easily. Let’s know more about them in our next section. 

Screens and Exterior Shutters

Here comes another very practical way, that is the screen. You must have read that cities like Phoenix have hit 100 degrees on a record-breaking half of the days in 2020. Now when you live in such a place, then shades on the windows become kind of necessary otherwise, you will not be able to control the heat in your house. Thus, people have adopted various types of shades on their windows, and even sun screens in Phoenix are quite popular. By putting them outside the building, they control the light from arriving in the interior and will make your home cooler.

Screens can be created with the help of a wide range of materials. Still, when we are talking about sustainability here, the use of perforated metal is beneficial as they are long-lasting and entirely recyclable. There are many ways to build the shutters as well; earlier, it was handled manually, but now mechanically controlled shutters are available. Choose the one that suits your preference and is energy efficient.

Fritted and Frosted Glass

If you want to add frosting and other same glazing treatments as they are directly fitted in the glass and don’t have to be added to the exterior of the house. But they are beneficial to maintain privacy more and can help in controlling some amount of heat. You can try them as they come in different patterns and look good.

There are chances that it can control a bit of direct sunlight in the room but it is good in reducing the transparency of the glass. It can be an excellent option if you are looking to reduce the transparency and want to add privacy.

Wrapping up

There are cities where the sunlight is very harsh and almost makes the home feel like a grilling pan. In such places, window shades are an essential part of designing the home. Every architect makes sure to add window shades in the rooms where the sunlight directly hits the room and makes it very heated. So choose the one that fits your pocket and looks good with the ambiance of the house as well. Even try to use an eco-friendly and energy-efficient material when building shades.