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.
How about putting retractable solar water heating panels over those windows?
i might do something similar when we eventually replace everything in our house with electric stuff, but for now we have a gas-powered water heater. i am saving for a full solar installation on our roof, though, which would power everything. solar is the one energy-producer we have here in absolutely wild abundance.
I met someone in GJ who excavated a pit, built a house in it, and walled it up on two sides so only exposed at two ends, the rest buried and banked.
At the time it seemed elaborate, but he was way ahead if me.
dang, approximately where in GJ? that’s where i’m located and i’d love to get some inspiration. i see some stuff like that in Fruita sometimes.
We put blackout cell shades in our east facing mud room and they made a big difference. You want something with a reflective component, not just like curtains.
I think the best would be something external, like shutters.
A fellow technology connections enjoyer
Plant Trees and shrubs along that section if possible?
Or move. This will only get worse the longer we deny it by doing nothing substantive. That’s what I did.
Here in Europe we use roller shutters in front of windows or doors for this. Works great, but the house gets really dark inside. A quick google search tells me this might be limited to Germany and bordering countries though.
They are quite common in southern Europe too. Some are solid, and some are like these with holes for light and ventilation. They can also be lowered fully to block light and ventilation.
Yes, here in South Limburg in the Netherlands a lot of homes have these installed and I guess keeping the sun out is the best option, whether it be awning or roller shutter.
We have solar reflecting blinds, and keeping windows and filters shut helps quite a bit. Solar reflecting blinds are still heating up the window panes though. Temperatures inside still up to 30°C (86°F) in heat waves as we also have a flat roof that we insulated last year, heat build up day by day. We went checking on awnings, but good ones are quite expensive, we went earlier this year for a split unit AC.
We also use a sun umbrella on the balcony door which has the largest window pain, it definitely helps, maybe a cheap/quick solution instead of awnings.
