Green Passive Cooling w/Timber Frame Awning

Summer is here, and we need protection from the sun and the heat. A timber frame awning is a fast, easy and green way to bring shelter and improve the look of a home or business.

Long before the invention of modern air-conditioners, people have used innovative processes to cool down from the heat. The concepts of cooling off implemented in Ancient Rome; wherein water was circulated from aqueducts through walls to cooling them down. In Persia, during the medieval times, similar techniques were used with cisterns and wind towers.

Willis Carrier invented and in 1906, patented the first cooling air machine calling it an "Apparatus for Treating Air." Cooling down air was not referred to as “air conditioning” until 1906, a term coined by Stuart Warren Cramer.

A man by the name of Charles Gates was the first person to have an air-conditioner installed in his home located in Minneapolis. It took up the space of approximately 7' x 5' x 20'. It was installed in the year 1914. The average home that year cost $3,500. The cost of Mr. Gates new cooling system was $10,000.

In 1830, an American physician Dr. John Gorrie created a machine that blew air across a bucket of ice to cool down rooms for patients. What an awesome doctor!

Before the death of James Garfield, some engineers built a box with melting ice over saturated fabric, as a fan blew over the top. Through this process, they were able to lower the temperature of the room by 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Over a two-month period, it was said to have used a one-half million pounds of ice.

The humidity can affect health and happiness, and it does not have to be complicated. Because of our "smart", modern world, the old world, simple and easy can sometimes be forgotten, when they can make a big difference and even improve upon our smart devices.

An awning sheltering an outdoor condenser unit can allow the air to move freely while creating a cooler environment, so the air conditioner will not have to work so hard, lengthening the life of your air conditioner.

According to The U.S. Department of Energy, an air conditioner protected with shade can be up to 10% more efficient saving you between $100 and $250 every year in cooling costs, cutting your air-conditioning bills up to as much as 50%. White shades cut energy costs by up to 77 percent for a west window and 64 percent on a window with southern exposure.

Cloth awnings can lower the interior temperature by up to 15 degrees, reducing the cost of cooling down your air by 10-32%. Weaved textiles, however, can not regulate the heat but timber can.

Timber is green with passive cooling. It is a natural regulator of human-friendly temperatures with an inherent ability to adjust the heat and cold. Timber is a poor conductor of heat, and yet it is never cold to the touch. It will constantly keep a natural balance of temperature. It helps to protect and warm in the winter time as well as cool you down in the summertime.

A timber frame awning offers more than just a beautiful accent to a home. It produces shelter and comforting environment.