It is good that we are becoming more conscious of green design on our city streets and in our yards. Rain gardens, permeable pavings, green roofs, restored wetlands, indigenous plantings, reflective parking lots: they can all help us create a more sustainable world.
But our buildings — which annually consume about a third of all our energy, and a full two-thirds of all of our generated electricity — are ideal targets for sustainability initiatives. Designers, architects, and others have clearly taken aim, setting the goal of carbon neutrality for all buildings throughout the nation within the next two decades. To each this goal, we must increase the overall energy efficiency of each new building by at least 50% over that of ‘conventional’ era-2000 construction.
And more citizens are responding, switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, water-saving fixtures, motion-sensing light switches, recyclable home products, greater insulation, and so on.
It is good then that our green efforts are reaching an increasingly receptive populace. Recent studies indicate that green commercial real estate boasts both a greater occupancy rate and a premium rent over its non-green counterpart. And who wouldn’t prefer to have lower home heating and air-conditioning bills?
There are many reasons why solar shading should be part of any green strategy. First, Americans have migrated substantially southward and westward over the past two generations, meaning that a hotter, sunnier exterior clime is more the norm than ever before. Our realization of the benefits of fresh air and view, coupled with significant technology advancements in glazing options, has resulted in many more buildings with substantially glazed walls, clerestories, light shelves and skylights. Solar shading can reduce energy consumption, while jointly preserving views and affording greater individual control over one’s surroundings. It can also reduce building emissions, while improving indoor environmental quality. Perhaps best of all, solar shading can save money, often quite quickly.
The various types of solar shading systems available for commercial structures and homes today include those with roller shades, panel tracks, exterior retractable components, fixed screens, and roman shades, among others. Architects, interior designers, commercial suppliers, and even home improvement stores can show you the ideal way to step into the shade.
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