Advice on reflective window coverings/blinds/whatever

[Swampyseifer]

Hi all,


The back of my house is south-facing and we literally have sun on it from sunrise to sunset, it is absolute murder at this time of year, my office upstairs was still 28c at 830pm so you can imagine what its like to sit in it all day when I'm working from home! Also my 6yo's bedroom is at the back as well and it causes him to be very unsettled and have trouble sleeping. We put an awning over the living room doors out to the garden and it made a massive difference but its not really as viable an option for the upstairs bedroom. No problem we thought, there's bound to be something we can do to reduce the heat buildup during the day....

My wife and I have been googling and googling this and we just cant seem to find anything solid to go on, there are so many options and opinions - blinds, curtains, films, foil etc and then you you've got types of each like whether to get black out or not, is the film internal or external, is it better to hand the curtain/blind inside the window recess or outside.

Can anyone advise or say what they've done?

 

[Stu999]

A brise soleil would be more effective but that obviously has more of a visual impact.

 

[Efour]

A black out roller blind might help stop the warming.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

Are you in the UK or in a country where the sun is a problem?

e: ignore, your location literally says UK.

You sound like you're overthinking a common problem and you've stated the very common solutions already (" blinds, curtains, films, foil etc "). Choose one that you think will work best for you and modify if you need to.

Apologies for being an arse earlier.

 

[Pipe & Slippers]

A black out roller blind might help stop the warming.

We have similar problems, and use these. It’s best if you are able to get some airflow by having the window open a notch, and some flow from a colder part of the house. It won’t cure the problem but it will lessen the heat

 

[Swampyseifer]

A brise soleil would be more effective but that obviously has more of a visual impact.

Another choice to add to the list

A black out roller blind might help stop the warming.

Might being the key word - unfortunately google has provided lots of mights, but not many wills

Are you in the UK or in a country where the sun is a problem?

e: ignore, your location literally says UK.

You sound like you're overthinking a common problem and you've stated the very common solutions already (" blinds, curtains, films, foil etc "). Choose one that you think will work best for you and modify if you need to.

Apologies for being an arse earlier.

This is my point though, how do I know which to choose? And even then, each of the main choices (blinds, curtains, films, foil etc) then breaks down into a load of sub-decisions that seem to make or break it.

 

[LOAM]

Plantation shutters, its exatly what they were designed to do, keep out solar gain whilst maintaining airflow.

 

[MichaelAwkward]

We got some UV reflective film on our east facing windows as they get full sun in the mornings which heated up the flat during summer too much to be comfortable - they do have an effect for sure, possibly 3-4C difference and less bright.

You can get foil professionally installed but the quote I got for 4 windows and double doors was £600~ versus £60 to buy the cheaper stuff myself just to see if it worked first.

If we had a house I'd probably get shutters fitted to the outside instead.

 

[VincentHanna]

We have similar problems, and use these. It’s best if you are able to get some airflow by having the window open a notch, and some flow from a colder part of the house. It won’t cure the problem but it will lessen the heat

But if the outside air is hotter than the inside of the house, you just end up making it hotter.

 

[MichaelAwkward]

But if the outside air is hotter than the inside of the house, you just end up making it hotter.

Yeah, you basically shouldn't open windows at all during the day - only at night when the outside air is cooler. Days when the night time temperature doesn't fall much are horrid for this reason.

 

[Pipe & Slippers]

But if the outside air is hotter than the inside of the house, you just end up making it hotter.

Not necessarily. The room temp will rise to above outside ambient temperatures, like a greenhouse

 

[Swampyseifer]

See! I've had suggestions already for blinds, shutters and film on the inside of the window or putting something outside the window to physically block the sun. Plus then a discussion on whether the windows should be open or not!

Why is it so complex!?

 

[MichaelAwkward]

See! I've had suggestions already for blinds, shutters and film on the inside of the window or putting something outside the window to physically block the sun. Plus then a discussion on whether the windows should be open or not!

Why is it so complex!?

Thermodynamics.

 

[PC777]

Thermal curtain liners doing as good as job as keeping heat out right now as they did keeping the cold out during winter.

Already had thick curtains but one room you could still see the light through them which also let in a lot of heat, applied £30 sets of polyester reflective liners, only takes a couple of mins per curtain with step ladder.

Keep windows and curtains closed if possible in heat of day, though I still open my office middle window with the two side ones covered when working. Been much cooler this summer for installing the liners, they were great in winter too.

Using this set up with a Meaco silent fan, it's cooler and a lot quieter than with no liners was using a portable AC in the same room last year. Ditched using the AC now as it was so noisy, the Meaco is almost silent.

 

[Stu999]

A black out roller blind might help stop the warming.

I've got these in my west facing rooms but it doesn't really make a massive difference. Experimented with it quite a bit last year when it was very hot.

 

[Freefaller]

You could do what we do in the med and have shutters outside of your house that you can keep closed but leave the windows open for a breeze. Works really well. That said I'm not sure if you need planning permission for external shutters on windows in the UK?

Or you can get a telescopic awning to stop then sun coming directly into the home.

 

[Diddums]

A black out roller blind might help stop the warming.

And curtains which properly "seal" the windows as much as possible. This is a huge game changer, you're effectively creating a thermal barrier. We have this setup at the moment and it reduced our energy costs significantly during winter, and also keeps the rooms cooler in summer. Can't recommend it enough.

 

[Tom_ed1987]

Tbh just spend a bit extra and get AC fitted, then enjoy your south facing glass as you imagined (not covered up)

 

[Efour]

I live in a place where its currently 24/7 sun...

That means at 6 am its like midday in London..

We have these black out blinds that also have what appears to be a reflective coating on closer inspection.
i googled a random uk shop selling them

Reflective Roller Blinds

Our reflective roller blinds are an energy efficient solution to keep the heat inside when it's cold, and reflect strong sunshine away when the weather turns ho

www.blindsdirect.co.uk

so actually its that what i meant

Do they work? Hell yes compared to an empty sheet of glass. Ive almost burnt myself rubbing past them getting out of bed in the "night"

But! obviously its not the only fix, try flushing out the warmer air in the evenings by opening the windows and getting a fan on to circulate out the all day long warmed air.

it sucks tbh get AC