While it is common knowledge that the temperature changes how certain materials function, there are many other factors to consider when preparing your screened porch for winter. The cooler temperatures, differing precipitation, and amount of sunlight throughout the day can all affect your screened porch and your enjoyment thereof. If you want to learn more about how winter affects your screened porch, make sure to continue reading for all of the most current information.

Colder Temperatures

The winter season brings with it cooler temperatures for much of the United States, with the national winter average sitting at 33.2 degrees Fahrenheit (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). The colder weather tends to make materials contract, since the moving energy within the materials (kinetic energy) is less and therefore moving slower. Certain materials, such as some metals, behave differently than wood, plastic, and other construction materials, due to how their internal compositions operate. 

While your screened porch is likely to contract (“shrink”) during the colder months, don’t think of this as anything major - they are minor changes that are typically unnoticeable to the human eye. Then, as your geographical region starts to heat back up in the spring, all the materials, including your screen, will expand (“grow”) back to their starting point. The SCREENEZE system already self-adjusts for these temperature changes with its self-tightening technology, so have no fear that the weather will do anything to your screened porch. Rather, simply be aware of these changes that will occur to your screened porch over the winter.

Air Moisture & Precipitation

Anybody that has owned a musical instrument, played a sport, or owned an object that travels frequently between indoors and outdoors knows that the amount of moisture within the air drastically changes how that object will operate. Just as a flute will sound flat on a rainy day, your screened porch will change day-by-day with the moisture and precipitation within the air. Don’t be alarmed - just as with temperature changes, many of the day-by-day “changes” are unnoticeable and without harm. Your screen may look a bit thicker on rainy days, or your screen might collect snow on snowy days. 

Again, the SCREENEZE system accommodates hurricane-level winds, numerous forms of precipitation, and daily changes in the pressure and moisture levels, so there are no concerns for the structural integrity of your screened porch. Rather, be aware of how the surrounding air pressure, moisture, and precipitation can alter your screened porch over the winter months. 

Sunlight Hours

While sunlight hours are going to have the least impact on your screened porch, they are still worth noting and being aware of. In the winter months, when there is less sunlight available, it’s important to be aware that your views of the surrounding outside nature may become slightly more dark than those in the middle of summer. With less sunlight, there are fewer rays coming in and out of the screen openings, making you perceive those #unobstructedviews as slightly more obstructed. This is because less surrounding sunlight means your eyes’ perception of the screened porch is darker and less clear. Not overly so - just ever-so-slightly. It is important to know this and add additional internal lights as-needed in the winter to enhance enjoyment and counteract the lack of natural, external sunlight. 

Ways to Continue Winter Use & Enjoyment

Our team has written a variety of other blogs detailing the use and maintenance of your screened porch in the winter months. With some portable heaters, extra blankets, and additional light sources, you can use your screened porch space all winter if you so choose. Or, with some velcro and vinyl sheeting, you can cover your screened porch up for the winter, use the space for some extra storage, and clean it up in the spring for warmer use. There is no right or wrong answer as to how you use your screened porch in the winter - so feel free to enjoy your screened porch space as you wish and tag us in those seasonal pictures! 

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