I have a 2400 sq. ft. McMansion that has absolutely zero shade and a majority of my windows are on the side of my house facing South-Southwest. This side of my home has six windows and a big sliding glass door. My wife gets migraines very easily and we always make sure to keep a consistent temperature. One of the big problems that we have is that our A/C (I guess just the compressor/condensing unit) is not sized properly for our home; the air handler seems fine as the furnace works fine in the cold winters.

In any event, it is presently 81 degrees Fahrenheit outside with a lot of direct sunlight, and it is only 70 degrees Fahrenheit in my home, with no A/C running at all. I have custom built solar screens that I assembled from supplies available at Lowes in three of these windows, now. It cost about me about $20 per window to do this ($12 for the frame kit and $8 for screen material). The materials are manufactured by New York Wire. I am going to build three more for the other windows windows with direct sunlight exposure. In addition, I am going to look for a means to shade my sliding glass door.

I already have interior shades. Today, I put a thermometer in one of the windows with a screen and it was 100 degrees Fahrenheit; a window without the screen was 132 degrees Fahrenheit. Shading your windows from the exterior is the key. I expect that this $120 total investment will be more than paid for during this year. Once it gets cool enough that we would consider turning on the furnace, I will remove the screens.

I made these screens to cover the entire window. The existing screens only covered one-half of my windows. I leave the existing screens in place, and use clips to hold the new screens in place.

There was some chart online somewhere that discussed what different surfaces were responsible for what percentage of heat transfer in your home (e.g. exterior walls, doors, windows, etc).

In any event, it is relatively cheap means to lower your electricity consumption, and if you are into being green, it is double-green (because green is worthless if it doesn't save you some green in your wallet).

How does it look from the outside? I could definitely see some HoA's getting really anal about that.

pthor1231 said:How does it look from the outside? I could definitely see some HoA's getting really anal about that.

That is definitely a concern, and is something that is going to be a judgement call. We have an HoA, but it is still run by a law firm that is out of state, so they aren't really that active.

There are typically samples that are at the store, so you could stop by and give it a look.

I have taken some pics, so I will see if I can post them.

Once again, it is going to be a judgement call. I could see one HoA getting bent out of shape, and another never worrying about it.

For what it's worth, I didn't ask. It is my house and I will do what I want. I work on my car when and it is against the covenents, too. Also, these are "temporary," so that may make a difference.

Dus10 said:It cost about me about $20 per window to do this ($12 for the frame kit and $8 for screen material. The materials are manufactured by New York WireCan you list the item numbers from your Lowes receipt ? Not sure Lowes will carry this stuff nationwide, but perhaps.

I extended our roof overhang a couple of feet on the south side, and now our south windows get no direct sunlight during air conditioning season (Feb - Nov). This was actually cheaper than awnings.

larrymoencurly said:I extended our roof overhang a couple of feet on the south side, and now our south windows get no direct sunlight during air conditioning seasonA permanent, wooden/etc extension that you nailed up to the eaves ? Or something else ?

miserly said:applying film to your window will likely void window manufacturer warranty. plant a shade tree on the west side of your house to reduce heat gain in the afternoon.
Although this is a good idea, a shade tree could take 10-30 years to grow big enough to provide substantial shade. I think people are more interested in things they can do now that give a substantial savings this year.

Dus10 said:Xnarg said:...An added benefit is that we can see out while outsiders can't see in.

That is another benefit to this, as well.

Also, if you are willing to do it yourself, you can buy the tint film yourself and apply it, but your mileage (quality) will vary.I just did this on the apartment that I'm renting. A 15' by 4' roll of film (highest heat blockage at Home Depot) and the tools need to apply the film cost me about $50.

Applying it to the two 4'x4' skylights in my apartment and then putting up some cloth to block some of the light has made a world of difference.
Totally worth the difficulty of applying the material. I'm sure I will save the money on cooling costs in a year.

If I owned the apartment (or cared more about the appearance), I probably would have paid a couple hundred dollars to get it done professionally.

or get low e- coating put on. these are not dark, but allow more light in, so you don't get the heat gain, but keep the views. otherwise, just black out the windows during the day.

Just so everyone is clear, solar screens are a totally different technology than window films and coatings. Think of an insect screen with thicker webbing, webbing that will cast a thicker/darker shadow than insect screening. This is better thsn film as it blocks 90% of the radiant heat before it hits the glass.