Blocking heat from windows

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Part of the baby plans include replacing the window in that room with a UV-blocking double paned wonder. We did so with our sliding glass door (as part of our Great Flood of 2007) and it's been awesome for the kitchen's cooling.

It's very tempting to do the same for all our other windows since they are vintage 1974 and awful. The one in our bedroom prevents me from sleeping in since the heat becomes oppressive and wakes you up with the feeling that you are going to die. Yes, we have central air, but it doesn't help upstairs enough. However, we do not have the cash for any more than one window replacement.

After waking in a sweat earlier than I'd like this morning, I did some googling. We can't do any exterior mods on our condo, so I am looking at indoor options.

Energy Film (http://www.neutralexistence.com/shop/24x48-energy-film-window-insulation/)
Gila film (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100616386) Gila site (http://www.gilafilms.com/Residential/window-film-heat-titanium.htm)
Radiant curtains (http://www.radiantbarrier.com/radiant-curtains.htm)

Anyone had experience with these or similar products?

[~MS~]

We used the film on the glass when we lived in a condo a few years ago and it made an amazing amount of difference. The window was HUGE and it was West facing so by noon the sun was beating into the room til it went down...the film dropped the temperature by at least 15 degrees!

[RStar]

Yes, the film has worked for us in our east facing window and the morning sizziling like bacon in bed mornings. That and sufficent window coverings did the trick. And I'm talking 1957 casement windows here. The kind that look thicker at the bottom because the glass continues to run to the bottom over the years of So Cal heat.....

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Do you have aluminum frame windows? Will the replacement be a retrofit?

How is the insulation in the attic? Is is compressed? I added an extra layer of R-30 and it made a big difference in equalizing the upper and lower level temps. Attic insulation is relatively cheap if you do it your self (but hot and dirty). I think the attic insulation made more of a difference than the dual pane windows.

[Ghoulish Delight]

They are aluminum frame, and will have to be replaced by aluminum frame (our HOA has said no to all vinyl windows because they don't like any of the available colors :rolleyes: ). There is insulation in the attic, covered by about 8 inches of filth.

[3894]

Yes, we have central air, but it doesn't help upstairs enough.

This caught my eye and my post has nothing to do with the question you asked.

Are all your bedrooms upstairs? Is it possible to move your bedroom to the first floor? I ask because, should you end up having a c-section, you're going to need to avoid stairs for, like, 6 weeks.

[scaeagles]

When we remodeled our home 2 years ago we made a significant investment in interior shutters (artificial insulating wood). They look great and make a significant impact on the temperature.....but they are flippin' expensive, so that might not be the best option.

Another thing we do for a large (8' by 4') upstairs window with western exposure is pretty cheap but very effective as well.....I went to Home Depot and got a piece of 1 inch foam insulation. It's some for of styrofoam. I put it behind the shutter and it blocks a lot of the heat as well. I left just enough uncovered to allow a little bit of light in. Not a perfect solution, but inexpensive and very effective. We have it in there during June, July and August.

[Ghoulish Delight]

This caught my eye and my post has nothing to do with the question you asked.

Are all your bedrooms upstairs? Is it possible to move your bedroom to the first floor? I ask because, should you end up having a c-section, you're going to need to avoid stairs for, like, 6 weeks.
Permanently, no. But in a pinch, the linving room can serve as a temporary bedroom.

Or I can just carry her up and down stairs for 6 weeks.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Hmm, our attic insulation is probably as old as the building. May be worth looking into, though that would be a job and a half, for sure. Wouldn't want to attempt to clean up there. Can we just dump new insulation on top of filth?

I'm not a huge fan of indoor shutters, but it's something to consider.

6 weeks downstairs?? This better be an easy delivery!

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Hmm, our attic insulation is probably as old as the building. May be worth looking into, though that would be a job and a half, for sure. Wouldn't want to attempt to clean up there. Can we just dump new insulation on top of filth?

I'm not a huge fan of indoor shutters, but it's something to consider.

6 weeks downstairs?? This better be an easy delivery!

Over time the insulation compresses, and loses its insulating properties. My old insulation had compressed to just a couple inches. The new insulation is around 8 to 10 inches. You can lay new insulation over the old. I laid the new insulation across the old at a 90 degree angle.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2632/3758812565_7958e7b077.jpg?v=0

It looks like clouds in the attic.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I'm considering installing some ceiling fans (at the very least I want to have overhead lights instead of floor lamps) in the bedrooms so perhaps once thats done I'll lay down some insulation.

Of course the irony is that anything that involves working in the attic I'm not going to be particularly motivated to do until summer's over.

[Mousey Girl]

David put film on The Boy's window. It really helped. He also put in heavier blinds.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

I'm considering installing some ceiling fans (at the very least I want to have overhead lights instead of floor lamps) in the bedrooms so perhaps once thats done I'll lay down some insulation.

Of course the irony is that anything that involves working in the attic I'm not going to be particularly motivated to do until summer's over.

Ceiling fans are a great idea. They have wireless controls now, so that makes the wiring much easier, you can mount the remote to the wall, or leave it on the table.

[scaeagles]

Definitely go remote control....that way you don't have to worry about going down the wall to wire a switch or two. That turned a relatively easy ceiling fan mount into a HUGE project for me.

Curious....you said you had looked into replacing a window. What does that cost? I have several that need to be replaced but I have no idea the cost involved.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Definitely go remote control....that way you don't have to worry about going down the wall to wire a switch or two. That turned a relatively easy ceiling fan mount into a HUGE project for me.

Curious....you said you had looked into replacing a window. What does that cost? I have several that need to be replaced but I have no idea the cost involved.

It really depends on the application. If it was a retrofit window, it's relatively inexpensive ($200-$500 per window, depending on size, etc) if you do it yourself. In GD's case, because of HOA rules, they will probably need to take out the old frame, put in the new window, and restucco (I'm guessing), which will increase the cost because of labor.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

It really depends on the application. If it was a retrofit window, it's relatively inexpensive ($200-$500 per window, depending on size, etc) if you do it yourself. In GD's case, because of HOA rules, they will probably need to take out the old frame, put in the new window, and restucco (I'm guessing), which will increase the cost because of labor.Yup. I believe the sliding glass door was nearly $2,000.

[Snowflake]

We put a 3M tinted coating on our windows years back and it made an amazing difference. It was quite economical.

[scaeagles]

Yup. I believe the sliding glass door was nearly $2,000.

I don't know if you are allowed to do this, but we replaced a sliding glass door with French Doors for under 1K. Not that you are looking to do that anyway.

[mousepod]

I've been following this thread with heightened interest, because we turned our new central air unit on for the first time last week, and even at full blast running for 24 hours straight, the best it did was make the house "not hot". We wound up shutting it off, because the crosswinds at night make the place so comfortable, we didn't think it was necessary for the few hours during the day when the sun is at its worst.

What we decided, and this thread seems to be bearing out, is that we need UV protection.

This Friday, 6 new Pella windows will be delivered to the house. We were planning on a retrofit, but because the frames are so old and partially rotted, we went for "nail-in", which will increase the installation cost.

We're getting three double casements, two single casements, and one single but large casement. The grand total before installation is around $3500. We estimate that the final all-in cost including installation will be about double that.

These 6 windows are less than a quarter of the windows in the house, so on our budget, this job will take a few years. Should the heat this summer be too much to take, I'm going to seriously consider some of the options that have been suggested here for the remaining windows.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

I've been following this thread with heightened interest, because we turned our new central air unit on for the first time last week, and even at full blast running for 24 hours straight, the best it did was make the house "not hot".

Was the a/c blowing cold? It sounds like something is wrong, either the a/c isn't working properly, or the unit is undersized. It shouldn't take that long to bring the temp down.

[katiesue]

I'm airless right now since the breaker blew and melted the pannel. My celing fans have helped immensley. Only issue I have with the remotes is make sure to program them on different frequencys - I have to stand in certain places in the bedroom to turn the light on/off or it turns on/off the light in the living room as well. This may not be an issue if you're on different floors.

I also have some sort of window shades. They came with the house so I don't know much about them. They're like a paper blind, but heavier, and they do a really good job at keeping the heat out.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Definitely go remote control....that way you don't have to worry about going down the wall to wire a switch or two. That turned a relatively easy ceiling fan mount into a HUGE project for me.Unfortunately there's no ceiling light installed right now, so there's no power in the ceiling. No matter what I'm going to be going down the wall. But there's already a switch there, I'll just be tapping in to the hot line going into the switch, not installing a new switch, which should be easier.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Unfortunately there's no ceiling light installed right now, so there's no power in the ceiling. No matter what I'm going to be going down the wall. But there's already a switch there, I'll just be tapping in to the hot line going into the switch, not installing a new switch, which should be easier.

I had a similar issue, but I found an electrical wire going above the bedroom ceiling in the attic that I was able to tap into. I added a junction box.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I had a similar issue, but I found an electrical wire going above the bedroom ceiling in the attic that I was able to tap into. I added a junction box.
The only power I saw up there when I was replacing the bathroom fan was for the fan itself...and that's on a switch, so that just brings me back down to the switch again. I suppose if getting to the wall switch turns out to be more difficult than anticipated I could get lazy and drill a hole in a discrete corner of the ceiling (there's a built in desk in the corner that would hid it well) and just plug the thing in to a wall socket, but that's pretty sloppy and I'd rather not.

[Not Afraid]

I'm in the process (well, Milt is) of repairing our disintegrating French Doors in our bedroom. Milt works on vintage houses and will be injecting a resin into the doors to repair the wood rot, stripping the paint, getting the windows that are in the doors to open and generally making the doors as "new". They will still have to be painted and not varnished.

The next thing he is going to do is to put in restored double hung windows to replace the 50's slat windows in the bedroom. Then I can have air conditioning in the bedroom!

Our Living Room is still hot in the afternoons, but with the windows open, it's not bad at all. I'm looking into the film to put over the big arched LR window as a heat-reflecting option - IF it won't look strange or ruin the look of the house.

[BarTopDancer]

Hmm, our attic insulation is probably as old as the building. May be worth looking into, though that would be a job and a half, for sure. Wouldn't want to attempt to clean up there. Can we just dump new insulation on top of filth?

I think some of the utility companies are offering discounts or rebates on re-insulating attics. It might be part of their energy survey. Might want to look and see if your electric or gas company offers this.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

I think some of the utility companies are offering discounts or rebates on re-insulating attics. It might be part of their energy survey. Might want to look and see if your electric or gas company offers this.

Good idea

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index#c2

http://socalgas.com/rebates/residential/insulation/

There are also some rebates on windows (mousepod), if they are EnergyStar compliant:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=windows_doors.pr_taxcredits

[Snowflake]

Our Living Room is still hot in the afternoons, but with the windows open, it's not bad at all. I'm looking into the film to put over the big arched LR window as a heat-reflecting option - IF it won't look strange or ruin the look of the house.

NA, there are varying shades of tint. Looking at the windows in our apartment you would never know they have a tint. The only thing about the tinted sheets is when cleaning windows you have to be a tad careful, but in the 15+ years we've had them on, the window washer has never torn or scraped them.

[Not Afraid]

NA, there are varying shades of tint. Looking at the windows in our apartment you would never know they have a tint. The only thing about the tinted sheets is when cleaning windows you have to be a tad careful, but in the 15+ years we've had them on, the window washer has never torn or scraped them.

So, how easy was the installation? I'm looking at the big arched window in the LR and the product would have to be cut during installation. There's not way I could reproduce the exact size of that window.

[Pirate Bill]

This thread has inspired me to put some film on our upstairs windows. We have double-pain vinyl windows, but there isn't a UV block and I think that's what's causing the heat build-up upstairs. We have great attic insulation, but when the sun hits those windows it gets hot.

I'll report the results when it's done.

[Snowflake]

So, how easy was the installation? I'm looking at the big arched window in the LR and the product would have to be cut during installation. There's not way I could reproduce the exact size of that window.

The 3M window people installed the stuff. As I recall, the cost was not exorbitant. Might call around.

Basically, you clean the window, the wet it, and apply the stuff. I think you had to let it dry for 24 hours, too. But since the windows had been cleaned, who needs to muss them up? I was not home when it was installed, but I expect they trimmed to the window with a blade once it was on there.

Here's a FAQ (http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/WF/3MWindowFilms/Products/FAQs/) from 3M

[innerSpaceman]

Wow, this thread reminds how badly my 1970's windows need serious replacing ... and sadly, how I'm not spending money on that sort of thing. Uh-uh.

[Not Afraid]

I have just spent lots of time quizing my window guy about film, duel pane windows, etc. I'm not sure I can regurgitate it all, but I think I know what we need to do.

It is cool to see my 1927 doors coming to life again!

[Snowflake]

I have just spent lots of time quizing my window guy about film, duel pane windows, etc. I'm not sure I can regurgitate it all, but I think I know what we need to do.

It is cool to see my 1927 doors coming to life again!

Well, Casa Swank is a fabulous cool bungalow.

It is like my dream home, very cool and very few up here, like I could afford one. :(

[Ghoulish Delight]

I have just spent lots of time quizing my window guy about film, duel pane windows, etc. I'm not sure I can regurgitate it all, but I think I know what we need to do.Can you at least summarize? What was his take on the film?

[Ghoulish Delight]

It would mean a little extra wiring, but if we do fans I'm eying something like this (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100654978&N=10000003+90048+4294926877). Not sure if that particular one would work with a ceiling fan, but the key is to have both a wall switch AND a remote. That way the light can be turned on when we walk in the room without having to worry about remembering to replace the remote by the door every time we leave the room (which I guarantee we won't), while the remote would let us kill the light while in bed.

[Not Afraid]

OK, this is what Milt said (with the disclaimer that he is an old house guy):

He said that the window film may help a little bit, but it is not only the windows that are heating things up. The walls absorb - and hold - heat much more than the windows do. But, a filter will block UV rays and protect the furniture/floors from fading. But, a curtain or blind would do that as well.



Ceiling fas/and fans in general, just move air around. They don't cool. But, if you have circulation problems with your AC, fans may be an option to get the cooler air moving.

Keep curtains shut during the day and open the windows at night to cool the upstairs. Heat rises.

He's also not a huge fan of dual-pain windows. He finds that it is abig expense for us here in So Cal. Now, if we lived in MN, by all means get them! We also got to talking about insulation and the theory that a well insulated house takes longer to cool down than a poorly insulated one.

We talked about a lot of stuff that I know nothing about, so my brain was sort of swimming at the end of the conversation (plus he was getting all of my neighbors stopping by and asking questions. Windows are a popular subject when it is super hot outside and you live in a 1920's neighborhood. ;)

[Not Afraid]

So, I also talked with an insulation contractor today. In his words, I live in a leaky old house and new roof insulation would do nothing for me. The insulation we already have is fine. Now, if I had central air or heat, drywall walls, and tight window seals - well, then maybe insulation would be cost effective. But, it's not something he recommended.

HOWEVER, he DID recommend an Orange County company to do window film. He said they are miles above anything else out there. Their name is Tint Pros and the contact is Loni. This is their web site. (http://www.thetintpros.com/residential_tint.php)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

From our own experience with the sliding glass door, the double paned, UV blocking glass made a HUGE, noticeable difference in our kitchen temp. And that's even with another large window in that room that we haven't touched. That said, it would be tough to say the cost is worth it. We only did it because our door died and needed replacement anyway.

In reading some reviews it seems the Gila stuff may be a bit annoying to apply as it's an adhesive, but it does a better job blocking heat than Energy Film, which is a cling. Some of the reviews say plainly that the Energy Film does not work...

[Ghoulish Delight]

I'm aware that fans don't cool air, but moving air is always better than stuffy stale air. I'm in what will be the baby's room right now and even the tiny little space heater turned to "fan" makes a world of difference. So I have no doubt in my mind that a ceiling fan will be a marked improvement (especially since the room really needs a ceiling light to begin with, so if I'm going to be doing that, I might as well make it a fan).