Surviving the World
A Photocomic Education by Dante Shepherd
Lesson #364 - Home Improvements
Also, if someone is trespassing on your lawn in just the right spot, you can quickly raise the periscope and nail them in the crotch.
The temperature-related paint color would probably work, though, if it was possible to get a wide enough temperature range for each color. Otherwise, you'd just have a black house most of the year.