How to Manage Heat Gain and Loss Year Round

In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shares tips for saving energy.

Managing Heat Gain and Loss in Your Home: Tips for Saving Energy

1. Plant deciduous trees to block sun and keep house cooler in summer.
2. Build a pergola or shade arbor to shield home from sun. Or, install awnings.
3. Install window air-conditioning units on north side of house.
4. Shade central air-conditioning units with shrubs.
5. Close doors leading to room with fireplace, and crack a window in the room.
6. Install a damper to top of chimney.
7. Close damper when not using the fireplace to prevent warm room air from escaping.

Pro Tip: This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook explains the logic behind deciduous trees: “In the summertime, all those leaves will block the sun from coming into the house. Then in the winter time, the leaves fall off and all that sun can come in, the sun’s rays will warm the house.”

A roaring fire can actually pull cold air into the house through cracks around windows and doors in what is known as a convection current. Because masonry is a poor thermal insulator, chimneys on exterior walls are among the worst offenders, conducting heat directly to the outdoors. All wood-burning fireplaces should have a damper, either in the throat of the chimney above the firebox or at the top of the chimney, to regulate air flow and seal the flue when the fireplace is not in use.