Using solar shades in Yuma can cut your cooling costs by shielding exterior walls and windows from the intense sunshine. These shades are made from synthetic fibers that block UV (ultraviolet) light and a good deal of heat. If your home has inefficient windows on the south or west sides, your A/C bills are probably unnecessarily high.
It’s not just the windows that raise the indoor temperatures. An unshaded south or west facing wall absorbs heat for hours and eventually the heat passes through the insulation and warms the room.
Sun beating on an uncovered patio next to your home will absorb and radiate solar heat inside. Solar shades stop the heat before it enters your home, which is the best place to block it. They also lower the UV rays indoors, protecting furniture and flooring.
Solar shade products are available as:
- Window screens
- Shade sails
- Manual or motorized pull-down shades
- Fabric on or off the bolt
You’ll find the fabric at home improvement centers, online, or locally at shops that specialize in screen products. It’s available as woven or knitted fabric and comes in black, tan, green, white, or red. All shade fabric indicates the percentage of UV light it blocks, and some are 90–95 percent effective, the best kind to use in Yuma.
Besides using shade screens for windows, as a wall or patio cover, you can lower cooling costs by shading an outdoor air conditioning condenser that sits in the sun for hours each day. The condenser has to lose the heat the refrigerant collects from your home, and a cooler condenser will operate more efficiently.
The shade should have at least three feet of clearance on each side of the condenser, and five feet at the top for optimal airflow. Your HVAC contractor can help you design the structure around the condenser and place the screen for maximum A/C performance.
Solar shades lower cooling bills in the Yuma area by preventing solar heat from entering your home. To learn more, contact Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company, providing top-notch HVAC services for Yuma-area homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about solar shades and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 928-723-3183.
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “OpenClipart-Vectors/pixabay”
