99th Post – Summer

Sun and heat gain windows

I’m back!  Summer took me outside to the yard and family fun plus I had computer issues.

When we built our home the plan was 4f/121cm eves to help with the sun but the computer model indicated that we needed only half of what we wanted.  We ended up putting 3f/91cm.

In June, the sun was only coming in just 5”/12cm in the windows.   In July the eves were a good length.  But at the end of August, with 90f/32c and a couple weeks of 100f/37c days of heat, the sun was coming into our home through the heat gain windows about 18”/45cm and September the sun has come in even more.  Yes, our home did heat up more than we expected about 80f/26c.  

We wish we would had insisted on the 4f/121cm eves.  Because the hottest days are almost always the end of August.

Next year, we plan on adding a pergola or an awning, to prevent the sun coming in the windows on the south side over the deck. 

We haven’t planted any bushes or trees around the house to help shade our home.  We needed to wait until fall so we wouldn’t have to water them.  So the research is on, for native trees that won’t grow so tall to interfere with solar panels we plan on installing in the future.

So here is what our house looks like with a yard in the back.  Check out my yard/garden design information, more is posted.

We have been tracking our electrical use and have found we have some sort of electrical leak. The hunt is on for the culprit.  The tracking was originally designed to help us figure out how big of a solar grid that we would need for our home. 

Be Blue – Protect our sky – Compost!  Reduce the waste that goes into the landfills and helps your garden at the same time.