Many factors besides your HVAC system contribute to your home’s heating and cooling. Even your house materials themselves can impact your home comfort. Which house materials work best for meeting your home’s heating and cooling needs? Here’s a brief guide.
Summer House Materials
When the weather gets hot, you want something with a high thermal mass. That is, dense house materials that can absorb and store heat effectively. The most popular of these include stone, brick, tile, and concrete.
During the day, your house absorbs the sun’s heat as it shines down and then stores it. Once the material is saturated, it radiates that heat inside your home. A stone or brick house, due to its density, takes a longer time to become saturated. It absorbs heat slowly and releases it slowly. So during the day, your house stays cool. Then, as the sun goes down, that stored heat gets released, keeping you warm at night.
Winter House Materials
High thermal mass is great for summer but less effective in winter, as you’ll know if you’ve ever put your bare feet on a stone or tile floor first thing in the morning. How do you let more heat into your home in the winter? Glass. Large windows and glass doors let the sunlight in during the day, warming your house.
Of course, the sunlight will get in during the summer as well, making your house too hot. The solution? Plant deciduous trees on the south side of your house, which is the side that gets the most direct sunlight. The leaves will provide shade in summer to keep you cool. Then it sheds those leaves in the winter to let the sun in and warm you up.
In any season, though, the most important material is insulation. It keeps heat inside your house in winter and stops it from entering in summer. Talk to your HVAC technician to make sure your home has enough insulation.
To learn more about what house materials affect your HVAC system, contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning. Lorain, Oberlin, and Elyria’s home-comfort needs are our top priority.
Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area