August 3, 2010 | In: Garden Design

Categories Of Patio Shades And Home Cooling Methods

When summer rolls around, many homeowners curse the weather and seek solutions to cool down both the exterior and interior of the house. Installing an air conditioner is helpful, but is only one part of a systemic solution. Air conditioners are expensive to install, to run, and to maintain. Furthermore, they do not cut down on the amount of heat entering, but merely act as a heat pump in removing it from the house.

The more appropriate answer to the air conditioning problem is to put in outdoor shades as well as associated cooling accessories. Outdoor shades solve two problems that are not addressable by air conditioners. For one, they help create more living space outside, in the front and backyards or courtyards and patios. For another, if fitted in the right spots, they help decrease the heat and light that come in through windows and open doors. There are some other devices that can help cool the exterior.

A common one is the outdoor mister which is often installed directly on structural shades in the forms of hoses or pipes. The mister releases a fine spray of water into the area intermittently. As it evaporates, it absorbs the heat energy. Of course, excessive use means that the ambient atmosphere becomes saturated with water until evaporation becomes very difficult. But usually local temperatures can drop by up to 10 degrees with this set up.

There are three types of outdoor patio shades in major use for home.

Patio canopies are tent-like structures. The canonical construction is a large standing steel scaffold draped with a large section of shade material. It is desirable to shade out solar radiation shining from the top so there is invariably a shade material roof. However, having shade material for the walls is not vital, as some people are worried more with respect to circulation whereas others are worried more about curious onlookers staring in.

A patio awning is a kind of shade that is built into part of a building, the location of installation often being at the rear entrance of a home. Awnings for personal use have advanced greatly beyond traditional immobile and one-piece shade cloth construction. Contemporary awnings are self-retracting, electrically powered and remote-controlled. The low end awnings are configured with retraction mechanism in a unpowered set-up, operated by a crank or lateral-arm set-up. Luxury awnings are configured with motorized retraction.

A patio pergola is a somewhat simple wooden structure that is supported by four or more columns in a rectangular layout. Instead of holding up shade fabric, it holds wooden slats that supply partial shading and incomplete sunlight. Pergolas are found astride backyard decks and sometimes in gardens. An undersized variant of a pergola is known sometimes as an arbor. Arbors are used as entry ways to garden trails.

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Related posts:

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  2. An Exterior Misting Fan Keeps Cool Garden And Patio Gatherings
  3. Adding Value To Your Home With Outdoor Shading
  4. Summer Cook-Outs And Patio Shades
  5. More Useable Space With Exterior Shades
  6. Using Outdoor Shading With Mist Systems To Cool Your Garden And Backyard
  7. Ensure Garden Events Go Well With Canopies
  8. Protecting Healthy Skin With Exterior Shading
  9. Energy Efficient Strategies Of Regulating Home Temperature
  10. Selecting The Best Gazebos For Residential Purposes

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