Replies

1. 
   junkhound | Sep 01, 2006 10:00pm | #1

   pull down shades if those have a style that suits you, need only to pull down when high heat times.

   Saw this was your first post, so welcome. 

   
   

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   Edited 9/1/2006 3:01 pm ET by junkhound

1. 
   sharpblade | Sep 01, 2006 10:38pm | #3

   I second the idea of shades.  In our house my wife custom made a bunch of roman shades for all windows, in addition to nice curtains. That combination has made the house warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, dresses up the house when closed, and are easily out of the way when you want to look out.

1. 
   DanH | Sep 01, 2006 10:40pm | #4

   Roman shades and the like do have a limited lifetime. Depending on where you live and how picky you are, anywhere from 5-15 years, due to sun damage to the fabrics.
   If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison

2. 
   DanH | Sep 01, 2006 10:08pm | #2

   Some sort of awning would be the best solution. When the sun angle is high in the summer the awning is effective. In the winter the sun shines under it.

   If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
3. 
   Tim | Sep 06, 2006 09:07pm | #5

   Unless I missed it, you didn't say how the present windows are constructed, how old they are and/ot what kind of condition they are in, whether or not you have some sort of shades/blinds, etc. You also didn't mention the exposure of these windows.

   For instance, windows with a single pane of uncoated, unshaded glass will pass 95% of the incident solar radiation. A double-pane, insulated (i.e. argon filled), tinted and low-e coated window with light colored shades will pass aroung 45% of the incident solar radiation into the space. Windows on the south side of the house will naturally reflect more of the summer sun than the winter sun because of the difference in the angle of the mid-day sun from season to season. East and west windows will always pass more of the direct sunlight because of the low angle of the sun in the morning and evening.

   Awnings are effective on south facing glass, if properly selected, and can shade the summer sun while allowing the winter sun in. Again, east and west exposures will almost always recieve direct sun regardless of the season and awnings are not effective in these locations.

1. 
   DanH | Sep 06, 2006 09:21pm | #6

   It's amazing how effective the awning is over our west-facing living room windows. It helps that we're pretty far north, I suppose, and there's an enclosed deck just north of the window area, so the deck blocks the lowest summer sun, when it's coming from the NW. But the "awning" is a partial roof coming off the deck roof (completing a gable), partly open rafters and partly covered. Basically, the direct summer sun never gets in the windows.

   If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison