Hello everyone!
We have a semi-detached house from 1921 with good insulation and fairly new windows from 2017, which we also bought in 2017. Unfortunately, it currently has no external shading. Our house stays cool for a long time, but the longer a heatwave lasts, the more it heats up. When temperatures stay above 30°C (86°F) for several days, even the best insulation can’t prevent the heat build-up. The living room and one child’s bedroom face east, so the sun beats down relentlessly on them until around 1 to 2 p.m., and for the rooms facing west, the sun arrives around that time as well. We now want to retrofit external shading as protection against heat. Below you’ll find the types of windows we have. The lower transom windows cannot be opened. There is no electrical wiring in the window reveals.
Based on my current research, the only really practical solution here seems to be an external roller shutter. Electric operation would likely be too much effort to retrofit; manual operation would mean drilling into four-year-old windows (thermal bridge?). They are PVC-aluminum windows, and we did not cut any corners there. Then there are various types of clip-on blinds, but those are ruled out because of the lower transoms and usability, right?
Our main priority is really effective protection against heat. We could also consider external blinds (such as Venetian blinds) if the operation works well. Since we all like to sleep in complete darkness, very good blackout capability would be a bonus, although our internal roller blinds already do quite well in that regard. We are the type who like to ventilate early in the morning and then keep everything tightly closed until evening during hot periods, because we just can’t take the heat otherwise—we are definitely not sun-lovers. The external window reveals have a depth of 22.5cm (9 inches), so there is quite a bit of space there for solutions recessed into the niche.
I wanted to tap into your collective experience here. Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees or imagine problems where none exist.
Attached are the types of windows we have.
We have a semi-detached house from 1921 with good insulation and fairly new windows from 2017, which we also bought in 2017. Unfortunately, it currently has no external shading. Our house stays cool for a long time, but the longer a heatwave lasts, the more it heats up. When temperatures stay above 30°C (86°F) for several days, even the best insulation can’t prevent the heat build-up. The living room and one child’s bedroom face east, so the sun beats down relentlessly on them until around 1 to 2 p.m., and for the rooms facing west, the sun arrives around that time as well. We now want to retrofit external shading as protection against heat. Below you’ll find the types of windows we have. The lower transom windows cannot be opened. There is no electrical wiring in the window reveals.
Based on my current research, the only really practical solution here seems to be an external roller shutter. Electric operation would likely be too much effort to retrofit; manual operation would mean drilling into four-year-old windows (thermal bridge?). They are PVC-aluminum windows, and we did not cut any corners there. Then there are various types of clip-on blinds, but those are ruled out because of the lower transoms and usability, right?
Our main priority is really effective protection against heat. We could also consider external blinds (such as Venetian blinds) if the operation works well. Since we all like to sleep in complete darkness, very good blackout capability would be a bonus, although our internal roller blinds already do quite well in that regard. We are the type who like to ventilate early in the morning and then keep everything tightly closed until evening during hot periods, because we just can’t take the heat otherwise—we are definitely not sun-lovers. The external window reveals have a depth of 22.5cm (9 inches), so there is quite a bit of space there for solutions recessed into the niche.
I wanted to tap into your collective experience here. Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees or imagine problems where none exist.
Attached are the types of windows we have.
Winniefred18 Apr 2021 17:48hampshire schrieb:
Are sliding shutters also tight on space?
Italian awnings for windows can be fully automated and take up very little space. I have looked into these awnings, but I think they still let in too much sun from the sides due to the east-facing orientation. They are probably a good choice for south-facing windows, but we only have east and west windows. I also find them stylish, but they probably wouldn’t suit the look of our straightforward, worker-style terraced house. Our house has a simple and clean design.
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hampshire18 Apr 2021 17:55Winniefred schrieb:
I looked at these awnings, but I think they still let in too much sun from the side because of the east-facing orientation. That's unfortunate. If the sun comes in that much from the side, a single shading element placed perpendicular to the house wall could be enough. It lets light in but blocks the sun. Like a window shutter half-opened at 90 degrees. Though it might look a bit odd.
Winniefred schrieb:
I have an eco-heart, at least for the most part. That's beautifully put! I feel the same way.
hampshire schrieb:
Somehow, it’s a bit perverse: We build increasingly well-insulated houses to use less energy. Then we realize that the insulation also makes it harder for heat absorbed during the summer to escape the house, so we install air conditioning.But why do we build like this?! There’s hardly any real choice…
Is it more environmentally friendly to shut down a nuclear power plant only to cover forests and meadows with tens of thousands of wind turbines?! Just one example among many, but that’s not the topic here.
Georgie schrieb:
But why do we build like this?!
There is hardly any choice...Because having an open glazed south-facing facade is considered modern. Many only realize that it also functions like a greenhouse once they live there.
An increase on this is fitting a 12m (39 feet) facade with a 16m (52 feet) glass front through a glazed bay window, which we have already seen here.
Winniefred18 Apr 2021 20:17Fortunately, we have an older building with few window areas and no south-facing windows. However, with the summers we've been experiencing in recent years, even living in such houses becomes overwhelming.
[QUOTE="Winniefred,
@Kobrakai I don’t think window film is a good solution for us; so far, I haven’t seen any that I thought looked good.
[/QUOTE]
I’m not sure if you mean having to cut and carefully apply the film yourself, like with a smartphone... But if a professional company installs a high-quality film, you can barely even see that there is any film on the glass, and it lasts for several years. Of course, there is also film incorporated directly into the glass, but that is correspondingly more expensive.
@Kobrakai I don’t think window film is a good solution for us; so far, I haven’t seen any that I thought looked good.
[/QUOTE]
I’m not sure if you mean having to cut and carefully apply the film yourself, like with a smartphone... But if a professional company installs a high-quality film, you can barely even see that there is any film on the glass, and it lasts for several years. Of course, there is also film incorporated directly into the glass, but that is correspondingly more expensive.
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