One of the most significant challenges of living in the Lone Star State is dealing with the fierce Texas heat in the summer. Living in the Southwest during the hottest months is draining for people, economically, physically, and mentally. The summer heat saps the energy right out of the body. Thankfully, for most Texas homeowners, relief from the summer blues is available in the form of patio covers, pergolas, and more enjoyable outdoor living space.
Patios Covers and Pergolas for Social Activity
Texans love the outdoors and fresh air. With the availability of recreational land high in Texas, it is easy to understand why many homeowners want to entertain in the open air when the weather and temperatures permit it. Patio covers increase the area of comfort that a house provides. Pergolas enhance the homeowner’s ability to entertain guests outside in comfort.
Most people in Texas make the most of the cooler morning hours. When the sun gets high, it becomes a scorching fireball that can cause heatstroke and sunburns. Fortunately, homeowners with patio covers avoid this distress with ease.
Patio covers are a roof structure that extends from the side of the home at the roofline. It usually covers at least one entrance to the house, often the back door to the garden. The flooring beneath incorporates a heat-quenching material such as decorative stone. Patio covers provide homeowners with protection from both rain and the heat of the sun. They likewise add immeasurably to the quality of life of those who enjoy grilling food outside or keeping pets outside.
Patio Covers and Pergolas for Better Utilities
Did you know patio covers do more than increase the amount of cool space outside the home? They also bring about a better utility bill for the entire house. The hottest living space in your home is usually its entry point during the summer. Patio covers provide a welcome stretch of shade in the perfect location.
Patio covers do more than offer a welcome respite to you and your guests alike. It offers the sheer relief of coming out of the hot sun. Patio covers keep the interior of a home cooler by blocking the sun from hitting the outer walls and windows of the home. These attributes, when combined, reduce the overall temperatures inside the home by as much as ten degrees.
Because the air entering from the entry point is less heated, and the room no longer baked by direct sunlight, the air conditioner doesn’t work as hard trying to keep the rest of the house comfortable. Most of the work that an air conditioning system does is because of air leaks and having to convert hot outside air to the desired temperature setting on a thermostat.
Patio covers lower the interior temperatures of a home in the summertime by as much as ten degrees, on average. This drop easily translates to hundreds and even thousands of dollars a year in electricity savings, depending upon the size of the house.
Outdoor Fires: Pergolas vs. Patio Covers
Texans love the Earth’s essential wonders as much as they love the outdoors itself. They like nothing better than to prepare a bonfire and cook over an open flame. When it comes to patio covers and pergolas, there is a distinct advantage to choosing a pergola to shelter your outdoor bonfire.
Pergolas are freestanding structures that do not always attach to the home. They are a hardscape feature, and other landscaping and garden design considerations must take it into account. Pergolas are particularly well-suited for outdoor fires because of the open spaces in their roofs. Some pergolas have retractable roofs.
This retractable roof is of critical importance if one is to have a fire. A fire burned beneath a patio covers eventually soils the underside of the cover with soot and ash. Most patio cover manufacturers discourage their use with open fires unless properly contained and vented. While the area around the central opening in a pergola canopy may require cleaning from time to time, it will ultimately be far less maintenance than cleaning the ceiling side of a patio cover.
It is unfortunate that wood fires are incompatible with patio covers, but safety is always the first consideration. Covered patios designed to incorporate a fireplace usually use gas logs. Gas logs have the benefit of being easy to use.
Patio Cover or Pergola?
The main benefit of a patio fireplace is its low maintenance, especially if it runs on propane or natural gas. Patio fireplaces see more use than pergola fire pits, although people like to gather around both. If nobody is a purist, they will discover it is easier to turn on gas logs than it is to source and stack firewood.
While convenience is the crucial benefit of patio fireplaces, their major drawback is that they are not as good for cooking. Having a pergola means that you can invite all your closest friends over and roast food over a wood fire in a circle. This feat is not workable with a patio space.
Although some specially designed patio covers can incorporate a circular fire pit upon request. Homeowners that like to have a lot of campfires would be better off to choose a pergola if possible.
In Conclusion
The daytime temperatures in Texas are often brutal, and the summertime electricity bills, exorbitant. A patio cover will significantly improve the quality of your life and the overall temperature of your home. Lower temperatures mean lower electric bills.
Pergolas and patio covers enhance social well-being and mental health and resale value of your home. Excessive heat is bad for the brain and psyche. Campfires and fellowship are good for the soul. For those whose primary goal for an extended outdoor living space is to have lots of wood fires for cooking, pergolas are best. For those that want to bask in the orange glow of a convenient open flame, a patio cover with a gas-powered fireplace might be a better option.
A person’s life quality depends on how they spend their time. A pergola or a patio cover increases the quality of both a person’s time and their current lifestyle. Before the summer heat takes off in the first year of the new “roaring 20s,” every Texas homeowner ought to survey their property and consider what benefits a pergola or patio cover might provide their outdoor living space.
