How to Shade the house in Temperate and in Tropical climates

How to Shade Your Home in temperate and hot and tropical climates

Well-placed trees or shrubs around your house can lower your cooling bills.

See:
Cooling your house with trees, vines and shrubs
Strategies with trees, vines and shrubs
Windbreaks

But there are other means to shade and cooling a home. The landscape is important, and involves other elements besides trees. Paving is also important, not to speak of verandahs, pergolas, balconies, courtyards and fly roofs (in hot climates) or overhangs, screens, awnings, blades or blinds...

Avoid paving

Paving causes higher ground temperatures and more reflected heat. If possible, use lawns and plants on your home's surroundings instead of paving the ground.

Screens, awnings and overhangs

Solar screens and solar films, retractable awnings, blades and blinds, and overhangs are important elements to shade a house or to cool it.

See, for details:
Overhangs
Solar window films
Screens, retractable awnings, blades and blinds

To Shade a House in Temperate and Cold Climates

Solar films and screens, awning, blades, blinds

Solar window films and adjustable solar screens, retractable awnings, blades and blinds are effective ways to shade a home, stopping unwanted low angle sun.

Eaves/overhangs

If possible, use correctly designed and sized eaves in your home; eaves are very effective and their implementation involve low costs.

See, for details: Overhangs

Deciduous trees, shrubs and vines

Deciduous trees, shrubs and vines are important ways of getting shade.

See Pergolas & Shade and Cooling your house with trees, vines and shrubs.

Anyway, avoid non-deciduous trees at the north side of the house (in the north hemisphere) or at the south (in the south hemisphere). They will obstruct solar heat, which is crucial most of the year.

To Shade a House in Tropical and Hot Climates

Home shading is crucial in tropical climates - more than in temperate and cold climates. External openings – walls, windows, doors, skylights… - should be shaded whenever possible.

Verandahs, pergolas, balconies, and fly roofs

Overhangs, verandahs, pergolas, balconies, and fly roofs (a roof structure shading the entire building) are interesting means to attain shading in tropical and hot climates.

To compensate the loss of natural daylight that the use of these shading structures may imply, you can consider the use of skylights. See Skylights Basics.

Courtyards

In hot dry climates zones, a tall-narrow shaded courtyard next to daily living areas are an effective way for cooling the air. It should be positioned and conceived to benefit from the wall’s shade.