‘Yee Gads! What am I going to do to cool my home on these very warm days?!’
This is a pretty common conversation a lot of us have been having the past couple of months and it has left me with SO many thoughts to process!
With that, and listening to others mentioning buying air conditioning, I have been deep diving into option after option as the ‘how to cool my home’ storyline just gets longer and more complex.
One of the subjects I am looking into is called Passive House.
It’s a process of designing (or retrofitting) with the idea of comfort in extremely warm weather, based on the wisdom gained from our natural environment. The good news is that this is not new technology; it’s continually being adapted with new techniques, and without consuming huge amounts of energy.
The basic principle of Passive House Northwest is to build (or retrofit) the envelope of the home – i.e. the windows, roof and walls – so that it will be resilient now and far into the future.
Shading, overhangs, siting the home location, material selections that offer alternatives, the placement of triple paned windows, and solar chimneys that vent hot air, are all part of a Passive House design.
It is about natural flows, protecting the glaze from direct solar gain, and designing for air movement.
As we see increasing temperatures and more frequent heat waves, design solutions will allow our homes to stay cool without consuming huge amounts of energy, and provide long-term savings in energy costs. Here’s a good article I found recently. Although some of best ideas are centuries old, when we combine tried-and-true methods with new technologies, they all take on a new relevance as our weather patterns twist and turns.
When it comes to creating a passive home, be curious, and ask questions! It’s one more way for you to continue to live in a HEALTHY, WELLNESS-FOCUSED HOME.
LET’S BEGING THE CONVERSATION!
Shenandoah Myrick
Sterling Real Estate Group
Managing Broker
2011 Young Street Suite 101
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-303-9083
Shenandoah4homes@gmail.com
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