Friday, May 29, 2009

Passive cooling

Got a window that lets the hot sun in during the summer? Plant annual vines to shade it. It's still early enough in most parts to plant morning glories, black-eyed Susan vines, cup and saucer vines or a double duty vine like (edible) scarlet runner bean. You'll need to offer some support - a light wood or metal system of some kind, but that needn't be expensive if you make your own or creatively use old grills, stakes, etc. Plant the vine so that it will shade the window during the hottest part of the day and take into consideration the angle of the sunshine later in the year.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I have a huge bay window with a wide wooden sill/window seat, and I use the spve like a greenhouse to grow gourds and pumpkins...they seem to grow better there than outdoors here in the UK. next year I'm going to try something scented, like sweet peas.