How to Cool Your Home on the Green Way

The best way to keep your home cool is to keep the heat out. This can be done by closing the drapes on windows facing the sun (east-facing windows in the morning and west-facing windows in the afternoon). You should also try to avoid heat-generating activities, such as cooking, on hot days or during the hottest part of the day. If you are cooking, use your range fan to vent the hot air out of your house. By reducing the amount of heat in your home, you will have to use less energy to cool it.

What is the best home design for that area to get lower utility bills? Assuming I already have very thick insulated walls and high ceiling, wide overhangs to shade windows, shaded west walls, active and passive cooling in attics... Is there a BIG? advantage to a home built around a large center opening to trap cool air to release into the home in the morning during the summer...or is some other design a better fit for that area? Interested in building to suit the environment.

My advice is to pursue virtually all of the passive cooling measures that I outline in my book, The Solar House. Your goal should be to reduce internal and external heat gain to the maximum extent possible. Chapter 5 covers the subject of residential passive cooling.

As for the best design, it's a little hard to say. I would seek a design that allows the best natural cross ventilation. I would look for a design that has the lowest exterior surface area. (I'd be sure to paint the house a light color and install a light colored roof tile.) If the evening temperatures are cool, you could purge heat at night using cross ventilation, but I doubt that is the case in your location. You may need to assist that with window fans or a whole house fan.

Steps to Passive Cooling
Reduce Internal Heat Gain:
Use lights sparingly, Turn lights off when not in use, Remove light bulbs in areas where they’re not needed to avoid over lighting, Turn water heater temperature town to 120oF, Install water heater insulation blanket, Insulate hot water pipes, Eat more cold meals in the summer, Cook outside, Use the microwave in the summer, Bake at night, Run exhaust fan when cooking,

Use the cold or warm water settings on washing machine, Wash clothes at night, Hang clothes on outside line, Dry larger loads, Close off utility room, Open window to utility room when the clothes dryer is in use during summer, Turn computers and other electronic devices off when not in use, Watch TV more sparingly, Unplug TV and stereo when not in use, Plug TV and stereo into power strip and turn off when not in use, Turn off furnace pilot light during the cooling season,

Let pets spend more time outside in the summer, Spend more time outdoors on porches and patios, Take shorter showers, Open window when showering, Run exhaust fan when showering, Install an efficient showerhead, Hand wash dishes, Switch off drying option on dishwasher

Reduce External Heat Gain:
Plant shade trees, Build artificial shade structures such as arbors and trellises, Install awnings, Install and use window shades, Seal cracks in building envelope, Upgrade insulation, Replace energy-inefficient windows, Repaint with a lighter color, Replace roof shingles with lighter ones or metal roofing or Spanish tiles, Install radiant barriers

Purge Heat:
Use natural ventilation early and late in cooling season and as much as possible during the height of the cooling season, if your climate permits this, Purge heat at night in dry climates, Install and use window fans, Install attic fan, Install whole house fan, Improve efficiency of air conditioning system (seal ducts, replace dirty filters, shade air conditioner, etc.), Replace inefficient air conditioners with more efficient models or evaporative coolers if you are in a dry climate, Install an air-source heat pump, Use fans, Install and use ceiling fans

Sorces: Green Home Building & Split Air Conditioners

Use ventilation and circulation to cool your home – Instead of automatically turning on the air conditioner on hot days, try cooling your home with window and ceiling fans. Circulating air can make your home feel cool and comfortable in a much more efficient way than air conditioning. There is also the option of a whole house fan (a large ventilating fan installed in you attic that expels hot air out of your home) which can circulate air throughout your entire home.

Source: Green Living Blog

If you're planning a home, here's what you should focus on if you want worry-free cooling during the hot months.

Passive heating and cooling: We've discussed this before here, but it's always worth repeating. The same issues, orientation, proximity to other structures and trees, and so fourth that keep your home warm in winter, also work to keep your home cool in the summer. Prevention of heat is a far better tactic than trying to get rid of the heat once it arrives.

Proper weatherization: People often think of weatherization as a warming method, but again, if it works to keep heat in, it'll work to keep heat and humidity out.

White roofing is a great, fairly simple, technique for keeping your home cool.

Super windows and insulation! Windows and insulation are very important both are actually weatherization techniques, but are big enough influences to deserve their own consideration. Windows and insulation with higher R-value are best. Windows (south facing) with the right awnings or that are place under sufficient roof overhangs can do double duty when it comes to keeping heat out.

Ventilation plays a big part when it comes to cooling your home. Heat trapped in say, your attic is going to go somewhere. One inexpensive and green option for proper ventilation is to use solar powered vent fans.

Source: River Wired

Heating and cooling expenses account for 44 percent of an average home’s energy bill. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), high-efficiency windows could reduce that bill by up to 25 percent. High-performance windows can even lower the cost of a new home because you may be able to install a smaller, less expensive heating and cooling system.

High-performance windows are available in such a wide array that the average homeowner might not know where to begin. “At last count, there were some 4,000 different window manufacturers in this country, so you have to look carefully,” says Bill Prindle, deputy director of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. Unlike some household products, windows are relatively expensive and fairly permanent, so taking the time to become educated about the many choices will be time well spent.