Summers are getting hotter and the number of days forecast to reach above 30 degrees is expected to rise significantly in upcoming years. Many existing buildings are not prepared for the higher temperatures, instead being at risk of getting too hot without adequate protection against overheating. As a result, living spaces will be too hot and have a negative impact on the performance and well-being of the building's inhabitants. Learn how to keep cool in summer with WAREMA products.
Protection against overheating from WAREMA allows you to keep a cool head even at the height of summer. This is because summer thermal protection ensures the right temperature and a pleasant climate everywhere - whether in the living room, in the dining room or work area, in the nursery, under the roof or even outside. With protection against overheating, you always have the best control over heat and solar radiation.
WAREMA offers you numerous technically sophisticated and highly effective sun shading products with which you can efficiently shade any room, patios, balconies and conservatories and protect them against the sun and UV radiation. Protection against overheating from WAREMA enhances your fun at the nicest time of year.
People typically first think of air conditioning as the only way to cool down, but this isn't just an expensive solution - it also majorly increases energy consumption. What many people aren't aware of is that external sun shading systems such as external venetian blinds, roller shutters or window awnings offer more sustainable, cost-effective alternatives capable of cooling rooms in the warmer months when used properly. Patio awnings can also help prevent inside spaces from overheating. They cast shadows on the windows and doors they cover, providing protection from sunrays for walkways while still letting in daylight.
Achieve a pleasant room temperature with external venetian blinds.
Heat protection for your windows.
Fabric screens for a good inside atmosphere.
Sun shading systems help to prevent rooms from overheating when temperatures start to rise outside. Expert in sun shading products Markus Schwab, building physician at WAREMA, explains how this works and which sun shading product is the right choice for you.
- It's important to keep in mind that sun shading systems don't just cool rooms, they also prevent them from overheating. Whether or not you use an external sun shading system is the deciding factor.
- External venetian blinds, roller shutters or window awnings intercept the sunrays in front of the window pane, keeping the heat outside and preventing the temperature from rising considerably in the first place.
- In living rooms or the kitchen, external venetian blinds or window awnings are a smart choice as they can be used more flexibly, allow you to stay in contact with the outside world and let daylight in even when the blinds are lowered.
- Roller shutters are more suitable for private rooms, such as the bedroom, because they offer privacy, a dim-out effect and sound reduction.
Automation is one of the keys to success: A sun shading system is particularly effective if it is automated and therefore continues to act when the residents are not home, thereby automatically guaranteeing pleasant room temperatures.
Why is automation so important? Intelligent controls like the WMS radio system from WAREMA efficiently regulate daylight and inside temperatures. Automated systems are more precise and react quicker than the residents can. Once the residents realise a room is too hot, it's already too late to prevent it from heating up more with the sun shading system.
However, with a control mode, the sun shading system reacts relatively early on to fluctuations in temperature and climate without any human intervention to ensure a comfortable environment even on hot days. The sun shading system can also conveniently be manually controlled on the go using the app.
How is it possible to ensure enough natural light gets into rooms during the day? What do you need to keep in mind if you don't have an automated sun shading system? Our expert has some handy tips for these questions as well!
- When you're home, the sun shading system should be opened just wide enough to allow sufficient daylight inside. For example, external venetian blinds can be adjusted to the position of the sun with their tiltable and movable slats, even without automation. As a rule, it's important to prevent direct sunlight from getting inside at all times to prevent overheating.
- Even if the sun is not directly shining on the facade, it makes sense to close the sun shading system as much as possible to ensure there is still just enough daylight, as scattered rays also heat up the room.
- If you aren't home or not using a room, it's a good idea to always fully shut the sun shading system.
- At night or when it's colder outside, you should then raise the sun shading system and open the windows for ventilation. However, it's important to make sure that the sun shading system is lowered before sunrise in the morning.
Another thing to keep in mind: with plastic roller shutters, all light slits should be open at temperatures above 30°C, as otherwise the roller shutter curtain may become warped.
Did you know? An effective sun shading system costs roughly the same amount to install as professionally installed air conditioning in a modern house with 100 m2 living space. However, a sun shading system requires only around one to two kWh power each year, which hardly makes a dent in the average household energy consumption of 4,000 kWh. By contrast, without any additional shading in the house, air conditioning roughly doubles the energy consumption of the entire house after 500 hours of operation (source: Bundesverband Sonnenschutztechnik).
Which colours and fabrics are best for keeping out sunlight?
- The darker the colour of the fabric, the lower the transmission and therefore incidence of energy. For this reason, when it comes to awnings dark colours are the way to go - regardless of whether they are installed on the patio or in front of windows.
- However, it's important to ensure that daylight isn't prevented from entering the room by external venetian blinds as otherwise additional artificial lighting will be required. Instead, the light transmission can be controlled by the slat angle or the degree of opening, meaning colour is of secondary importance.
- Although light can enter the room by partially closing the roller shutter curtain, lighter colours are generally a good idea as they do not heat up as much.
With Smart Home solutions from WAREMA, summer thermal protection is becoming an intelligent climate manager that you no longer want to do without. Because with WAREMA Smart Home you can not only regulate your sun shading system, but also intelligently network and control heating, light and your other household appliances. The systems can be comfortably retrofitted or integrated in the blink of an eye for new buildings or renovations. So your summer thermal protection will become your personal Smart Home - it can't get any more comfortable and efficient. Because now your protection against overheating responds to temperature specifications that you have predefined on your PC. Or you can control your sun shading system - as well as your other connected devices - comfortably via a smartphone app. Summer thermal protection from WAREMA allows you to stay cool while it's hot and sunny - simply ask your WAREMA dealer for it today.
The interactive sun shading system experience – simply go into your living room, kitchen or patio and configure the sun shading product of your choice in the WAREMA Configurator.
Visit us at one of our Sunlight Experience Centres or contact your local partner directly to get a quote for your own customised solution. With our specialist dealer search, you are guaranteed to find the right partner for your project!