In recent years, homeowners have begun to embrace the concept of passive heating and cooling.

This is a variety of design and maintenance strategies that collectively keep your home comfortable while reducing your reliance on mechanical systems, like your HVAC system.

Beyond the obvious advantage of reducing energy costs, these strategies aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions by creating a home that works in harmony with nature, rather than against it, to keep the heat out in the summer months and prevent heat loss in the winter months.

One common strategy involves upgrades to your home's insulation. Whether you're building a new home or retrofitting an existing home, investing in high-quality insulation and sealing gaps around windows, doors, and other openings to prevent air leaks is one of the most reliable ways to reduce energy costs year-round.

Similarly, choosing double - or triple-pane windows with low-emissivity (low-E) coatings and inert gas fills between the panes can significantly reduce energy costs without sacrificing natural light.

The actual location of your windows is important too. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, the winter sun sits low in the southern sky. By placing larger windows on your south-facing walls, you can harness free solar heat during cooler months.