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Claiborne Simple
Finding Sustainability With Energy-efficient Retractable Awnings
Cutting back on energy use is an admirable goal, but it’s difficult to not use air conditioning in humid summer heat or to keep blinds drawn (blocking your view) – on sunny spring days and all for a very minimal affect on actual energy costs.
Going green is an important consideration for homeowners (according to the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association, that’s important to 75% of homeowners) – but there are so many other maintenance demands on home budgets that going green needs to be a little bit easier. That’s the advantage of retractable awnings; they’re an easy first step towards efficiency:
• Lower the need for air conditioning, so you can lower usage without discomfort
• Don’t require a hefty financial investment, remodeling time, or difficulty
• Are an attractive enhancement to a home
• Have simple installation, low maintenance, and long lifetime
The largest expense in a home or business is controlling the temperature, so basic energy sustainability projects begin with maintaining home or business temperatures efficiently. Almost half of the heat that builds up in a home or business comes from sunlight. You may think that using blinds and shades to block a lot of sunlight is enough to block the heat energy, but according to Louisiana-based Claiborne Electric Cooperative, blinds only block the light from the sun. Once the energy reaches the window, the heat enters the room regardless of light, so the blinds don’t lower real air conditioning use.
Retractable awnings actually block solar energy from reaching the window, so it never enters the house. That’s a much more effective way of controlling air conditioning use; in fact, retractable awnings can cut the heat buildup in a room between 65% and 77%, according to the US Department of Energy.
So what effect does cutting down the solar heat in a room have on energy bills? In broad terms, it cuts air conditioning use around 25% and saves $100 on annual electric bills. The Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA) commissioned a study covering twelve major cities across the United States, factoring in the window orientation (west, south, east, or equal), whether the awning was installed year-round or only in Summer, the type of glass (normal or solar-reflective), and how long the Summer seasons are.
The effect of awnings varies widely depending on where most of the windows face, the region, and local energy costs. Sunnier homes – with western-facing windows or in long sunny seasons – showed a marked improvement, though every home cut cooling energy use:
• Sacramento and Seattle by over 60%
• Minneapolis and Boston around 33%
• Washington, DC and Houston around 15%
The actual dollar amount that translates to can equal even more than the percentage sounds; for example, Phoenix homes cut air conditioning use by 25% by using awnings but realized savings totaling almost $250.
One significant finding in the PAMA study: the benefits of using an awning are only in the summer. Year-round awnings increase heating expenses, and that can actually raise annual bills. For example, houses in Atlanta with east-facing windows saved a moderate $50 per summer on electric bills – but lost $7 over the entire year. In Boston, the decline in cooling energy usage had a minor affect on air conditioning expenses ($1), but cost $65 because of increased heating expenses.
That’s why true energy efficiency comes through installing a retractable awning.
While air conditioning expenses are a significant amount of electricity usage, heating expenses account for almost half of all energy used in a home. Any efficiency solution that improves air conditioning. Retractable awnings do that: they can remain extended throughout the entire summer season, for the maximum reduction in air conditioning expenses. As fall and winter set in, they can be retracted, so solar heat enters and naturally warms the house, keeping heating expenses down. By staying open permanently, fixed awnings cut sunlight in winter months, significantly increase heating costs, and cancel out any summer utility bill savings.
In the Northeast, where energy prices are a big concern, the New Hampshire utilities system recommends integrating retractable awnings with your landscaping to increase energy efficiency. Other features – easy care, easy use, long lifetime (over 25 years, instead of about 5 years), and diverse solution dyed acrylic fabric selections – make retractable awnings an appealing energy efficiency option. The reason for retractable awnings increasing popularity in America – and their immense popularity in Europe – is because they provide a simple, relatively inexpensive, and attractive method to control energy use.
About the Author
Retractable Awnings offers quality awnings and patio covers, which are both reliable and easy to use .http://www.retractableawnings.com
what are you all time 20 favrite movies these are mine?
12 monkeys
outbreak
american beauty
imataion of life
bound by honor
the joy luck club
the lake house
the breakfast club
the mist
the house of sand and fog
casino
dracual 1992
crash
jackie brown
a simple plan
dolres claiborne
fraility
flirting with disaster
mischief
one hour photo
Favorite being those I can still re-watch. In no particular order...
1-The Abyss ("Raise your hand if you think that was a Russian water-tentacle.?")
2-Dances With Wolves (Watching the change in a man towards cooperative, natural living.)
3-Interview With the Vampire (Louis' search for a soul.)
4-Shawshank Redemption ("Hope is the only thing.")
5-Gone With the Wind (The epic time line.)
6-300 (Realistic comic book feel a la cinematique.)
8-Finding Nemo (Dory's short term memory cracks me up.)
9-Jesus Christ Superstar - 1973 (Passionate acting in song. Original locations.)
10-American Beauty ("Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it")
11-Grand Canyon (1992 version of "The Big Chill," which I've over watched already.)
12-Amazing Grace (The decades of battle to outlaw slavery in Great Brittan.)
13-Dogma (Jay & Silent Bob get more air time.)
14-Fargo (Understated comedy)
15-The Green Mile (Respect goes a long way.)
16-O, Brother Where Art Thou (George Clooney plays a likable scoundrel. Good song, too.)
17-Pleasantville (The slow reveal from Black & White to Color. Literally & symbolically.)
18-Crank (Jason Stathum... HOT!)
19-Matrix (Red pill, blue pill. Pick your reality.)
20-MST3K, The Pineal Gland (I laugh at the riffs until I can't breathe.)
Shane Claiborne's New DVD Project
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