Would having large houseplants in my windows help keep my rooms cooler?

Question

We recentely moved into a trailor with no trees around it and it is a hot box. We put up window awnings which really help and I run the A/C starting about 2:00. Trying to cut the cost of energy anywhere I can. So was wondering if large houseplants would also help.

Answer 1

You should leave your ac on. Just turn it up a bit. When you turn it off the whole place heats up including the walls. It takes your ac much longer to cool the place down and your probably not saving much.

Answer 2

i would think plants outside the window would help much more. sun hitting the plants means the plant gets warm and then heats up the inside. Same sort of thing happens with blinds. Any sort of shading you can get outside would be good.

I don't know how insulated your trailer is, but doing something like putting a shade layer above the trailer roof (with air circulation in between so the roof doesn't get as hot) might help. A living roof might be neat, but i don't know if the roof can support the weight of sod and water.

Answer 3

Partially, since the plants will block a portion of the sun. You would be further ahead with blinds to block all the sun. Tinting is also an option.