7. Average Monthly Temperature & Degree
Days in Hartford CT
Avg. Monthly Temperature Heating & Cooling Degree Days
1400
80
70 1200
Heating Degree Days
60 1000
Cooling Degree Days
50
800
40
600
30
400
20
10 200
0
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
8. Narrative
The Climate of East Canaan is much like the rest
of New England. We get some harsh winter
weather and mild spring and fall seasons and the
summer can be very wet or very hot. The
microclimate of my actual house location is
different for many reasons. First of all there is a
river to the south of our house and a waterfall
which adds moisture to the air. There is also a
mountain right past the river which gives us some
shade in the winter. The stone wall on the north
side of the house gives protection from northern
winds and the southern facing windows allow for
passive solar heating. We also have a green house
on the south side which provides thermal buffering.
The driveway is black so it soaks up a lot of the
heat and warms the front porch area. Also the
9. The winds that come in from the northwest hit the
back side of the house but there are smaller
windows and one door which protects from air
leakage in the house. The sun is essential to our
house because we have solar panels for hot water
and electricity and to optimize that we built
buildings with one slope angled south. Overall by
taking aspects of climate into consideration we have
been able to optimize our renewable technologies
and have an efficient house. There are times
when we have large amounts of precipitation
whether it be snow or rain but they have never
terribly impacted our lives. We are high enough
above the river that we have never experienced
flooding and the large mountain next to us is holds
snow longer than anywhere else in town which is
optimal in winter time. In the future I plan on
building my house in the back part of this property
