June 21st is a noteworthy day for our planet Earth and its relationship with the sun, as it marks the beginning of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the summer solstice and official start of summer begins on Friday, June 21 at 1:04 a.m. EDT.
A solstice occurs when the rays of the sun directly strike one of the two tropical latitude lines. While June 21 marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere, it simultaneously ushers in the beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere. When summer takes place in a hemisphere, it is due to that hemisphere receiving more direct rays of the sun than the opposite hemisphere where winter occurs.
On June 21, there are 24 hours of daylight north of the Arctic Circle (66.5° north of the equator) and 24 hours of darkness south of the Antarctic Circle (66.5° south of the equator). The sun's rays are directly overhead along the Tropic of Cancer (the latitude line at 23.5° north, passing through Mexico, Saharan Africa, and India) on June 21.
In summertime, most of us don’t think of any radiant heat except that from the sun overhead. But it is actually the perfect time to install electric radiant heat for that addition or bathroom remodel. And it extends to outdoor applications for driveway and walkway snow melting. By preparing for winter, we can ensure the radiant heat that we are getting from the sun now will be there for us underneath our feet when the cold weather season rolls around again.
At WarmlyYours, our electric radiant heating systems simulate the radiant heat from the sun. But instead of radiating from above, our systems radiate heat upward warming the people and objects in a room instead of the surrounding air. Radiant heat creates a comfortable, energy efficient environment helping you extend the warmth of summer throughout the colder seasons of the year.