Nobody likes paying power bills, and most people are always looking for an opportunity to reduce them wherever possible. These bills can be particularly hefty during the summer months if you live in Queensland. In our climate, hot summer days and a beating sun are unavoidable, so most of us result to running the air conditioner frequently. While this is a great way to combat the heat, it’s also an expensive one. The good news is that there are a few adjustments you can make around your home with metal fabrication to reduce your need for air conditioning, and therefore your power bills!
Window hoods
Window and sun hoods are a fantastic way to reduce solar gain into a building. By reflecting the sun, these hoods limit large amounts of this sunlight and therefore heat being absorbed into your building. This can significantly reduce how hot your building becomes. Because of this, you either won’t need to use your air conditioning system as much, or it won’t have to work as hard!
These window hoods can be utilised across residential, commercial, and industrial applications. No matter the building, there’s an application for window hoods. If you are unfamiliar with window hoods, they sit above a window and block the sun that enters from a downwards angle. This is a great option if you are wanting to maintain complete visibility of the window.
Window screens
If you are looking to limit a large amount of sunlight into your building, window screens might be the better option for you as a metal fabrication. Unlike window hoods, these obstruct more of your vision, but in turn also block out more sunlight. Window screens are generally more applicable in a commercial landscape. However, they can be used residentially if there is a particular side of the house that experiences a lot of direct sun.
These screens are strips of metal that are arranged in a grate-like fashion to let minimal sunlight in. Due to their design, there is still some visibility when looking through them. You can also customise where you want the screen to sit. Some opt for the screens to sit only over the top third of the window where the sun comes in the most. Otherwise, they can sit covering the entirety of the window.
Awnings
Awnings are one option to help reduce those power bills that have many different applications. Awnings can be used on singular windows, entire balconies or patios, or external areas of commercial buildings. Covering a much larger surface area than window hoods or screens, these are best used when there is a significant amount of sun that hits that side of the building. While most residential homes will have awnings on windows, you could consider adding steel awnings to any outdoor areas. A great example of a functional use for steel awnings is having them installed on the exterior of glass doors. Due to the large amount of glass, a lot of heat can infiltrate the building. This can significantly increase power bills by making your cooling system work 10x harder. By adding awnings on the exterior, you drastically limit the amount of sunlight that directly hits the internal areas of the building.
To discuss further applications of metal fabrication and heat reduction, contact The Fabrication Company today. We supply and manufacture architectural steel and glass for commercial, industrial, and residential projects.
