Blocking heat from windows
 

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
Gila film Gila site
Radiant curtains

Anyone had experience with these or similar products?

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!

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.....

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.



It looks like clouds in the attic.