Block the Heat Leveraging Stylish, Sustainable, & Budget-friendly Solutions

After a long tiring and sweaty strenuous day, when we get back to our home, we promptly switch on the air-conditioner. Because we feel air-conditioner is the one which can beat this scorching heat of summer days. With the increasing level of pollution, the characteristics of climate are also gradually changing and day-by-day it is deteriorating.  If we have to stay healthy we need to cope with these ever changing climatic conditions. Global warming is one of the prime reasons of this vivaciously increasing temperature which is making the summer days even worse for tropical countries on Earth. 

The concrete made houses of modern cities make our homes like a furnace in hot summer days. These extremely awful heat waves are constantly questioning the mankind, how we can revive the mother-nature, reduce the pollution or how can we protect ourselves from this. The first thing we should do is to switch into sustainability; also we can make buildings architecturally smart so that, it remains cool in summer days. Concrete is one of the considerable contributors to global carbon emissions. Architects are finding new techniques to make our home cooler without using energy. 

Natural Cooling Effect in Architecture

Modern architecture is a trans-disciplinary system which uses various factors to justify the functionality of every space in a built structure. A renowned professor of architecture, Susan Abed Hassan has stressed on the concept of wind catchers, which is a special type of chimney that funnels the air through houses and keep them cooler in hot summer. Presently she is researching to find few ideas of attaching underground water pipes with the wind catchers to enhance their cooling effects.

Architecture should align with the atmosphere and weather condition of the surrounding. A veteran and skillful architect always understand the local biodiversity, neighboring structures, and climate to create a system that blends well with the surroundings, and promote sustainability. A system of sound design principal aims to amplify and optimize the building’s bioclimatic performance.

In this article we will throw light on few ideas on keeping your home cool in hot summer days naturally. Let’s check out.

Passive Cooling System

It is a special type of design that uses few natural processes in architectural styles to cool down a building’s temperature without using any mechanical system. Few passive cooling strategies are shading, convection, natural ventilation, chimney effect, wind-catchers, and more.

Shading: A well-designed shading system offers both ample daylight and privacy while also preventing overheating and glare. The effectiveness of shading system depends on where they are installed. Outdoor shading is more effective than indoor shading system. Window shading comes in different shapes and sizes and its functionality depends on the type of glass and frame used. Window shading can also be done using plants.

Convection: Using the principle of warm air rises and cool air sinks down, the convention method is used in architecture. In this system, openings like clerestory windows, roof ventilators, wind scoops, wind towers, and wind-catchers are widely used. Wind-catchers are very much effective in capturing outdoor cool breezes and pushing out indoor warm air. Stack ventilation relies on the buoyancy of warm air to escape through high-level outlets, drawing in cooler air from shaded external areas.