window binds still let the light into the house where the energy then turns to heat.
Heat-reducing window-tint on the other hand is pretty easy to install.
honestly, on the outside, the yoghurt probably isn’t a particularly durable layer (i.e. going away after the first rain,) and probably gets to smelling funky. On the inside, it’s probably going to also smell funky.
Maybe my understanding of blinds is wrong, but the ones on my window get pretty close to completely dark. Add a decent curtain (with insulation and blackout) on the inside, and I can keep the flat comfortable passively.
Whatever else you do, close the damn windows and doors during the day, and fling them wide open as soon as its cooler.
It can slow things down, but once the light hits the curtain, the energy has gotten in, where it might dissipate slower, but it is still going to dissipate into the rest of the space.
Reflective curtains can do wonders, bouncing most of the light back out, mind. The advantage of reflective tint, though is that some of the absorbed light heats the window itself and passes that heat back out.
Interior blinds create a convection current around them. They catch the sunlight that makes it through the window, get hotter, cause the air between the blinds and glass to rise, and pull in cooler room air from underneath.
Most modern windows have infrared-reflecting coatings, but it works both ways. If it reflects 90% of the infrared away, 10% gets in. Say you have polished aluminum blinds for 95% reflection, it’s reflecting 9.5% of the original light back to the window. But then the window reflects 90% back again, or 8.5%. Then the blinds reflect again… All the while, it’s finding any gap and heating the materials and air. So yes, blinds help, but it’s best if you can keep the heat outside entirely.
I watch outside air temp closely and do open windows once ambient swings past what I want inside. Problem is, outside hasn’t dropped below 75f/24c in about 5 weeks here. Most of the inhabited world has this issue in the summer unless it’s a desert. Hell, that range is about what I saw in India during winter.
Maybe this is a weird European thing, but my metal blinds are outside, so yes, they are very effective at reflecting radiated heat away. The triple glazing does a decent job blocking convected heat and last but not least good quality curtains to block any conducted heat that makes it through. It’s never going to be 100%, but I’m confident it’s 100% better than yoghurt!
Ah, I see where our misunderstandings are. Exterior blinds are pretty rare in the US, despite being flush with exterior shutter adornments. So in the US, any talk of blinds is going to be about interior things, which was my assumption. I have heard functioning exterior blinds/shutters are more common in parts of Europe. Meanwhile, the US does also use “curtain” and “blinds” to mean separate things: blinds are the adjustable slats (or accordion cellular styles) while curtains are the more decorative textiles usually pushed to the sides. So it still sounds like we were talking about the same thing, using curtains to cover the gaps in the blinds, while talking about entirely different blinds.
How do you operate the exterior blinds? Are there controls going through the wall or do you reach out the window?
Also of note, American homes tend to have pretty bad wall insulation. Wood frames, plywood+siding outside, sheet rock inside, and probably slouching thin insulation. A wall can exchange as much heat as a curtainless window
window binds still let the light into the house where the energy then turns to heat.
Heat-reducing window-tint on the other hand is pretty easy to install.
honestly, on the outside, the yoghurt probably isn’t a particularly durable layer (i.e. going away after the first rain,) and probably gets to smelling funky. On the inside, it’s probably going to also smell funky.
Note sure what they’re called, but plenty of houses here have metal blinds on the outside that work perfectly for blocking the sun.
Shutters? Those’ll do it.
That was the term, thanks
Maybe my understanding of blinds is wrong, but the ones on my window get pretty close to completely dark. Add a decent curtain (with insulation and blackout) on the inside, and I can keep the flat comfortable passively.
Whatever else you do, close the damn windows and doors during the day, and fling them wide open as soon as its cooler.
It can slow things down, but once the light hits the curtain, the energy has gotten in, where it might dissipate slower, but it is still going to dissipate into the rest of the space.
Reflective curtains can do wonders, bouncing most of the light back out, mind. The advantage of reflective tint, though is that some of the absorbed light heats the window itself and passes that heat back out.
Interior blinds create a convection current around them. They catch the sunlight that makes it through the window, get hotter, cause the air between the blinds and glass to rise, and pull in cooler room air from underneath.
Most modern windows have infrared-reflecting coatings, but it works both ways. If it reflects 90% of the infrared away, 10% gets in. Say you have polished aluminum blinds for 95% reflection, it’s reflecting 9.5% of the original light back to the window. But then the window reflects 90% back again, or 8.5%. Then the blinds reflect again… All the while, it’s finding any gap and heating the materials and air. So yes, blinds help, but it’s best if you can keep the heat outside entirely.
I watch outside air temp closely and do open windows once ambient swings past what I want inside. Problem is, outside hasn’t dropped below 75f/24c in about 5 weeks here. Most of the inhabited world has this issue in the summer unless it’s a desert. Hell, that range is about what I saw in India during winter.
Maybe this is a weird European thing, but my metal blinds are outside, so yes, they are very effective at reflecting radiated heat away. The triple glazing does a decent job blocking convected heat and last but not least good quality curtains to block any conducted heat that makes it through. It’s never going to be 100%, but I’m confident it’s 100% better than yoghurt!
Ah, I see where our misunderstandings are. Exterior blinds are pretty rare in the US, despite being flush with exterior shutter adornments. So in the US, any talk of blinds is going to be about interior things, which was my assumption. I have heard functioning exterior blinds/shutters are more common in parts of Europe. Meanwhile, the US does also use “curtain” and “blinds” to mean separate things: blinds are the adjustable slats (or accordion cellular styles) while curtains are the more decorative textiles usually pushed to the sides. So it still sounds like we were talking about the same thing, using curtains to cover the gaps in the blinds, while talking about entirely different blinds.
How do you operate the exterior blinds? Are there controls going through the wall or do you reach out the window?
Also of note, American homes tend to have pretty bad wall insulation. Wood frames, plywood+siding outside, sheet rock inside, and probably slouching thin insulation. A wall can exchange as much heat as a curtainless window
Most have a manual mechanism to operate them from the inside. Mine are a bit fancy - theyhave a motor and a remote control.