Hey Ed, How Much Does the Sun Affect Heat Gain?
In this edition of "Hey Ed," Ed talks about how the sun affects heat gain.
Hey Ed, how much does the sun affect heat gain? The sun affects heat gain on a structure substantially. I think we’ve all experienced standing in the sun and you’re burning up, and you get in the shade, and it’s significantly less. Well, your house is the same way. So, when the sun is beating on the house, it takes that radiant gain, and eventually, that heat will work its way through the structure. Remember, hot always goes to cold, right? So, it’s those BTUs or that heat, that is looking for something colder. I think the way it works is molecularly everything in nature. The molecules want to slow down, and that’s why the process is taking place. It’s not like we can put a big umbrella on top of the house, but what can we do? You’ve got windows in your house, right? There’s a tremendous amount of heat that can come through those windows. So, if it will be really hot that day, pull the blinds down. It will make a difference or maybe even a substantial difference with the gain on that structure. But here’s the other side of that thought. When it’s not that hot, and it’s very humid, and we don’t have much sunshine, have you ever caught yourself telling your customers to open all the blinds because then we get more sensible gain coming into the structure? That’s going to make the system run more. The more it runs, the more water we can pull out of the air. It’s a good idea. And that’s the way I see it.
Ed Janowiak is the Manager of HVAC Design Education at ACCA.
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