Better idea. They’re called trees.
Are you going to elaborate on why it’s better or did you just want to be a contrarian?
Is it not enough that trees look better?
IDK why you have to choose one or the other, though.
Why would that be enough when we’re talking keeping a house cool?
I am VERY pro-tree. A lack of trees is why I moved (and why I decided against buying a few homes)… But trees are not a “better idea” for this purpose so it was a useless statement to make
https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/using-trees-and-vegetation-reduce-heat-islands
https://news.wisc.edu/study-suggests-trees-are-crucial-to-the-future-of-our-cities/
Trees create a cooling effect past shading the area. It’s a combination of shade and evaporative cooling.
Those links discuss cooling outdoor spaces. They don’t compete with awnings for keeping sunlight from warming up your house unless you plant them close enough to do so and come with a ton of downsides (roof damage, leaves clogging gutters, roots breaking pipes and foundation)…not to mention how long it takes a tree to grow tall enough to provide that sort of shade
trees near buildings are a nightmare, they can often grow weirdly due to lack of sun, and often make maintenance and clean up on the tree itself a nightmare, if it grows to close to your house you need to do something about it. They are also generally liabilities during storms, especially if they hang directly over your house.
Like a previous commenter said, they can be problematic for foundations and driveways and things like that. It seems fairly common that surface level root structures will expose themselves and start to pop through the top layer of dirt, primarily due to soil erosion and compaction i imagine, but that’s another problem for grounds keeping as well.
Speaking of grounds keeping, trees make grass grow really inconsistently, and also generally provide “dead spots” where the grass will get almost no sun, and almost certainly die. Also mowing under them is hard. Trees don’t really grow at human accessible heights all that often. And when they do, they’re not as good for providing shade.
I live in Chicago. So does Alec. Stop the video at 5:44. All the trees are doing far more cooling and shading to the entire area than shitty old window awnings blocking single windows.
Honestly, I kinda hate the big tree in our front yard. It has these tiny leaves and every fall we have to clean the roof and gutters repeatedly until it finally drops everything, because those stupid leaves stick to everything and clog not just the gutters but the downpipes. This tree has caused our basement to flood during fall because one storm can simultaneously blow off a ton of leaves, instantly clogging the gutter, and then pour rain down the front of the house. We spent hundreds of dollars last year on a new gutter solution for 6ft of gutter. You read that right. Six feet of gutter cost us about $450, and they STILL wouldn’t guarantee it would fix the problem because of the stupid tree.
We keep the tree trimmed and healthy, but every time the trimmers come out I dream about telling him to cut the stupid thing down. Awnings would be easier -_-
As a guy who does concrete. Trees close to your house love to drive roots through your foundation. Trees are great but can really do some damage. Especially where I live. Ground water is about 80’ or deeper. The tree roots here stay shallow and spread out everywhere.
No offense but they are also fucking ugly
It sure why you’re being downvoted, it’s is unfortunately true. Makes your house look like a diner most of the time…
There’s a house near me who has disgusting cheap awnings on their house. I want them so badly to just take them down. They have all kinds of trees casting shade on their house anyway.
I don’t think the look good.
And literally never thought about it more than that.
So people may not really know what they’re for, just that they’re “old-fashioned”. Not sure how to make them trendy but that seems to be a deciding factor in how people invest in their homes. Maybe sell them with “live laugh love” printed on the front with wine bottles dangling from the corners?
They definitely make a house look dated. I doubt this would pass the wife test for most people. I know my wife wouldn’t like them, and we’re all about saving energy.
These things are technologically obsolete imo. The same result can be achieved with glass coatings, without requiring the extra work to install/maintain or replace these appendages.
These awnings work against losing heat to the night sky, the same effect of which can be achieved with anti emissive coatings that reflect heat radiation back inside.
The awnings also work against the sun when it’s high in the sky, for which there are now anti solar coatings which will reflect more light from certain angles.
Nostalgia is nice, but the modern solution is easier + cheaper to install and maintain.
A tldr image: https://www.agc-glass.eu/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/2024-05/diagram-coatings leaflet.JPG?itok=s97bN-aV
Longer promotional article: https://www.agc-glass.eu/en/sustainability/glass-sustainable-architecture/energy-saving-glass
I’m afraid to admit that I have not, will do it this evening but until then I will remain ignorant.
Edit: Just skimmed through it because I couldn’t wait and the video did not change my opinion at all.
The presenter seems to be unaware that there exist glasses which reflect different amounts of light depending on the angle. Up north, where he lives, the angle of the sun is much lower in winter than in summer. There exists glass that is designed for that.
A large awning to create extra seasonal living space outside, sure, those are still great. Small window awnings like ik the thumbnail picture, definitely not, those are a waste of time and money.
I was also disappointed by how dismissive the presenter was of scientifically based findings that did not align with his feelings. Curtains work great.
There’s literally a whole section on glass coatings. But he makes the point fairly reasonably that in large parts of the world the climate is extremely seasonal and so you don’t necessarily want glass coatings because they affect the glass all year round. Is a good point really perhaps you live in a temperate climate and so are not as cognizant of this.
The curtains bit is especially stupid because obviously curtains heat up and then radiate that heat back into the room so no they don’t block heat they block light. If you want it to be dark then you have curtains if you want it to be cool they don’t do anything.
Not to mention they are less work than trees
Maybe, in the future, we’ll have rapid up/rapid down trees? With AI. Maybe they’ll get the ability to walk, too, so they can stand where they provide the most shade.
Oh, AI Tree Ents? That’s the future we’re going for? I mean, I’m in, but I didn’t realize that was even on the table!
