Project Homepage Overhangs Can Make a Difference Overhangs are a fading architectural feature in modern Florida housing. But with the advent of air conditioning, many new homes have sacrificed overhangs in interest of first costs. Modern developments often have next to no overhangs on new residences. But what saves initially doesn't always save over the long run.
Overhangs are one of the architectural differences between the two homes in the Lakeland project.
The PV home has a 3 foot overhang around the perimeter of the building while the standard home has one and a half foot overhangs. The four figures on the right show the difference an overhang can make on our project homes. The standard home, shown in the top two photos, with 1.5 foot overhangs shows a shadow length of just 36 inches barely enough to reach the tops of the window. Everyone in Florida knows that unshaded windows can really heat up the interior. The three foot overhang in the PV home is just a small improvement which we made using a very old idea to achieve better performance.