This is a signature look of the Southwest, but it is used for an excellent reason: the adobe conducts heat transfer slowly.Ī desert environment can be scorching hot during the day and somewhat chilly at night the adobe can transfer the daily heat to release overnight for interior comfort.Īdobe is a great building material for desert homes in the following ways: Limits Water Absorption If you live in the Southwest or have ever visited, you have probably noticed a majority of homes that feature adobe as the primary external building material. Insulation is an easy way to ensure the scorching outside temperatures are blocked and repelled as much as possible.
You will want to take every opportunity you can to reduce the desert’s high temperatures from entering your home.
Insulation can reduce the power of a house fire by a substantial margin. This is because the air lacks adequate moisture. House fires are easier to ignite in areas with dry heat like the desert. Insulation can help reduce the need to power your cooling systems at all hours of the day. Air-conditioners or evaporative coolers will then have to work harder to fight against the onslaught of heat, which has a thicker consistency than humid heat. If a home is not properly insulated in the desert, waves of dry heat can quickly transfer through the roof and walls. This means that insulation in the desert doubles the heat transfer process due to the thickness of the hot air. Since a desert climate doesn’t typically see large amounts of moisture form, the condensation reduction of normal insulation is reduced, causing a gain in the heat transfer process. Insulation can trap this heat and force it back out. As the sun beats down on the roof and exterior walls of a home, the temperature can easily seep into the house and make it difficult for even air-conditioners to keep up with. Most desert environments see brilliant displays of sunshine throughout the year, but the summer months are the strongest in terms of temperature and UV rays. Proper insulation can help to trap some of this heat in the following ways: Inhibits Heat Transfer Throughout the day in desert environments, dry heat has a building effect that rises towards the middle of the day and then crashes down onto a structure in the early evening hours. Temperatures in the Southwest can reach triple digits during the summer months when you add in the air’s dryness, it can feel like stepping outside into an oven. Insulation is probably the most important building material to utilize when building a home in the desert. This article will take an in-depth look at nine of the best materials to utilize for desert-building to provide the best style and interior comfort for homes in the Southwest.īefore we dive into the best materials, take a look at this video that explains what a homeowner should keep in mind when building a house in a desert environment: These are just a few of the recommended building materials to withstand the dry heat of a desert region. Additionally, lighter color schemes such as beige and grey and sturdy interior insulation are recommended to reflect and trap heat before it reaches the interior. The best building materials for a desert climate should be made of thick and durable structures to repel the high exterior temperatures. This all starts with selecting the best building materials for the region because hot and dry air may sound like it is easy to deal with, but these conditions can stress home as the years go by. Building a home in the Southwest’s desert climate needs to be tailored to repel the heat and withstand the arid atmosphere year-round.
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