when I get direct sun exposure in my windows, the room temperature pretty obviously goes up, in part because air conditioning setup seems to leave much to be desired.
So, it would be nice to have a semi-transparent reflective film type of product that could be easily manually installed and removed from the room-facing window surface. Such as, I put it up at 11am and take it off at 2pm if no longer needed.
Is something like that available for purchase? My googling so far only returns DIY instructions for McGyver-types and exorbitantly priced reflective blinds for people who don’t mind wasting money and overhauling the blinds setup.
Would be nice if it were instead cheap, in a nice package, not interfering with existing blinds and window setup and installable/removable by a one-armed elderly person suffering from a heavy hangover. I also want fries with that if possible
Yes there is. I purchased some several years ago when I had a large picture window facing east, but I never got around to putting it up. The instructions sounded doable, though tricky with just one person.
ETA: I missed the bit about being easy to remove and re-install. No, I don’t think there is such a thing. This stuff gets applied and stays on.
If and when you do find something like that there’s a good chance your neighbors across the street will get the reflection straight in their window. Just something to think about.
No fries! Chips!
A couple of things to consider. Do you want to put it inside or outside? Is the glass single or multiple pained. Inside reflectors may cause a double or triple pained window to crack.
We used some of the stick-and-leave film from Home Depot (upon looking, exactly that same one linked to above), and it really has made a difference. And it doesn’t look as tacky as you would think, although we don’t much care about that anyway.
interesting, thanks. From the reviews it does sound like it is a not necessarily easy thing to install. Some quotes from their site:
chaoticbear, so are you happy with the state of your window during winter or otherwise when the weather is not particularly sunny? Also, were you unable to find anything cheaper than this? Or is this a one-of-a-kind type of product with little direct competition?
We are generally happy with it - we only installed it on windows that face west - we don’t have any southern-facing ones to speak of, and there’s a house close enough to our west that we don’t get a lot of hot morning sun there. Since I live in Arkansas, though, there is plenty of warmth still in the winter.
It was fairly easy to install, though, since we have a bunch of panes to cover, rather than large window surfaces. Having said that, it’s a rental, and we’re not particularly concerned with its longevity, and it looks good enough. Certainly not professional, by any means, but there aren’t any air bubbles in it, even given our limited skills.
I don’t remember ours being quite so expensive, but that is exactly the product we used. It took us two rolls to cover 5 good-sized windows, and I think there’s even a little left over. Don’t know about competing products, but the mirrory finish does seem to let plenty of light through while reflecting the heat, somehow. Don’t know that it’d be the same with the less expensive ones that are simply tinted.
