hi all. i live in western Colorado, in the desert part rather than the mountain part, and it’s HOT. and sunny. my house has a long west-facing wall full of large windows, and we’ve been keeping the blinds shut all day but it’s not helping. i’m thinking of installing awnings.
my questions are, a) have you done this or something similar, and if so what did you do, b) are there awnings available that are NOT just plastic? and c) any other hints, tips, or ideas would be welcome.
Is this by any chance inspired by the recent Technology Connections video? As a homeowner with a brutal western exposure, I’m in the same boat.
A fellow technology connections enjoyer
Depending on the angles of the hot sun you’re getting something like this might be an idea and I think they look great.
I have these on my building and fuck I wish they were just real awnings. It rains a ton and I’d appreciate shelter from that too, not these half ass sun shades
Something to consider, is if you might want rain cover. I have to say these do look better than a traditional awning though.
You could place the top pieces at an angle instead of vertical like in the pic.
Or if you built something like this that had a slope to it, you could put polycarbonate on top. Or corrugated metal or fabric etc. You would just need the slope so that rain and snow wouldn’t settle on it.
that’s really cool. Do you know what to call that? I assume some considerations are needed for keeping the window shaded through all sun positions.
I do energy consulting, and it’s hard to effectively shade east and west windows from morning and evening sun. Awnings on the west lose effectiveness because the sun gets lower and lower in the sky as it sets, requiring an awning to be lower (blocking the view) to still provide shade to the window. An awning will help to block the more southern portion coming around earlier in the day, but the most effective would likely be adjustable exterior blinds or coverings rather than an awning.
As you’ve discovered, interior blinds aren’t very effective too. Once that sun is through the window, it’s hard to get back out.
Retractable awnings should be able to cope with this issue, right? At the expense of having to be actively managed, unless you go all in and get a motorized one with IoT-controls.
They’d be better than nothing, but you’re right, actively managed often means not managed unless it really has to be. But, they could stay down all day for the hottest parts of the year without issue.
Playing the long game, plant some trees that will eventually give you afternoon shade!
Search “aluminum awnings” and you’ll get a ton of results like these
yes, that actually is my very long term strategy, but the trees are not in place yet. my wife and i had a permaculture analyst suggest plants that produce edible foods for our area, so there are some plans for that and maybe also sunflowers or amaranth to do a natural block. but for today, i’m thinking awnings.
