The actual first day of summer was June 20th but it was cloudy here. So yesterday I took photos of the shading effectiveness of the fiberglass overhangs on the windows and doors in summer.
Most references specify an overhang of about two to four feet, which I’m sure works to shade out sunlight for more months of the year. Our architect designed a 4 foot overhang for the lower front of the house and showed the shading for a two and a half foot overhang. But the upper part of the house could be shaded with just shy of one foot of overhang. It is a LEED requirement to shade the south facing windows in the summer.
Dibble Res_Window Shading
Part of preparing the doors for repainting was to protect them from above with an awning. Based on the architect’s drawing, we used the recycled fiberglass edging to protect the upper edge of the doors. In winter the sun completely misses this one foot awning and shines fully into the house.
This photo is of the overhang very near the winter solstice.
Winter Doors with Shading
The shade from the one foot awning is only about six inches and is completely above the doors.
But the doors are shaded in summer. This is a summer solstice photo.
Summer Doors with Shading
Shading is effective for the entire south side of the house.
Front Door Shading
Interior Front Door Shading
Window Shading
Interior Window Shading
We did not shade the upper windows so some sun is entering the house. But we plan to install the fiberglass corners on the upper level too.
Sun from clerestory windows
And ideally there will be summer shades for the two skylights. One is currently covered by the interior air barrier. This one is in a bedroom of the house that is not being gutted.
Sun from north facing skylight