Unused rooms, heat storage and heat transfer

We needs exterior blinds that are used in Mediterranean countries.

Whitewavemark2

We needs exterior blinds that are used in Mediterranean countries.

Not feasible for most if windows open outwards

I won`t be testing today, that bubblewrap was old and good quality, still on the roll and I probably bought for moving in 2019. . It has been cloudy all day, I need strong sun to do a worthwhile test

The amazon triplast I ordered came today, it is utter flimsy rubbish and has already been returned

I have now ordered bubblewrap greenhouse insulation, good quality, double laminated, it cost a lot more and it has 20mm bubbles but will last for years

From Harrods horticultural because the width suits my windows better, I can cut 2 from one width. It is 0.75m wide and lots of good reviews

We can award ourselves Blue Peter badges or a Brownie I Insulated my Home badge.

Has anyone tried solar film on their windows? If so, did it make a difference?

Yes.
Upthread.
My daughter and someone else.

Not perfect but makes life bearable!

fancyflowers

Our living room faces north and there are really big trees on the pavement outside, so the room is always shady. However, with the temperatures we've been getting, it still warms up uncomfortably during the day.

We are looking at good quality dans to buy before the next heat wave arrives in a couple of weeks. Does anyone have any recommendations?

What are Dans? FF

AmberGran

Has anyone tried solar film on their windows? If so, did it make a difference?

A relative has had their windows done, bedrooms & landing windows. Modern house with tall glass windows, so really hot in the summer.
They like it & say it’s made a difference.

I could do with that uv filter film on my conservatory windows as I think one side of my face is starting to get lines.

Just realised Fans Fancy flowers.
I thought you meant some kind of blind.
Try the Meaco website, or John Lewis.
I really like mine.

The Lidl £59 Dyson look alikes are brilliant. We bought two and they have kept our flat comfortable in 34°. They sell out as soon as they arrive in stock though.

Arghh, this respite is short, I hear we are going into another heatwave. I have made amendments for outside

Going to use sensible extending metal curtain rods, they will be very long (from amazon) as they need to each span 84". They will dip in the middle due to the length so I have also ordered a pack of command large hooks and will put 2 up for each length.
I think I will put the hooks up first to make positioning the rod easier. Then I can go higher up the ladder and run the shade edge eyelets along the rod

The suction hooks will still be fine at the bottom of the shade. I have spent money again but so be it, everything will be reusable. I found the one extending rod that I used previously for a net curtain and it fits across my utility room door, which is half glass

We`re definitely worth a Brownie badge

I did try another online site for the 2 rods, net curtains direct but they wanted £25 just for postage

Now to sit tight and hope that temu and HH deliver promptly too

If push comes to shove and the suction hooks don`t work on the bottom of the shades then I will get some more curtain rods for the bottom, it gets very windy here

I have bubbled all the windows that I could. Took me about 3 hours and I have just finished. The quality of the bubble wrap is excellent. Several window panes are the same size so I measured accurately for the first cut. and then just lay that one on top of the bubbles to cut

A few tips:
I used window cleaner and gave each pane a quick wipe
The best fit was slightly shy of the actual pane dimensions
Spray the pane with water with a drop of washing up liquid
A few sheets did not stick very easily and only at the end did I turn the sheet over, when it stuck easily

If any start to come loose then I will have to turn the wrap over and spray again

I used a little bit of wall safe tape here and there

I ordered too much bubble wrap but so be it. I have done 14 panes, the hardest were the 2 over the sink unit. I had one foot on a ladder and one foot at the back of the sink, hoping that the ladder wouldn`t slip. That was one of the tricky ones so I went back and turned it over, not wanting to have to do it again in future

The colours in the photo are rubbish, the shutters are cream and walls are white but you can see the layout

The long curtain rods have arrived and temu shading is with evri, goodness knows when they will arrive

The bathroom bubblewrap is still up and there is a difference, that side also gets a lot of sun

None of this will completely block the heat, it can`t but it should make life a lot more bearable when we get to 39C

Well done. What an effort by yourself..

Dd and SIl have a house with wide window panes in London. South facing. I told them about bubblewrap and they were very interested. They have dark grey roller blinds at the windows but of course they act like giant radiators when they heat up in the sun.

I am looking forward to your assessment of how well the wrap works in the hotter weather coming.

He has put hooks on the outside of my kitchen window for me to hang the greenhouse shading when it arrives. That is the early morning east facing window which heats up and the sun dazzles through it. The patio south facing windows will be a contender for bubble wrap.

Forgot to ask where did you order the wrap from. Thanks

HelterSkelter1

Forgot to ask where did you order the wrap from. Thanks

It is greenhouse bubble wrap and I had the 75cm wide from Harrods horticultural. most sellers are only wider width. There are good sellers out there like gardening naturally and two wests and elliot etc

The extra wide is very useful for bigger window panes

www.harrodhorticultural.com/greenhouse-bubble-wrap-20mm-bubbles-pid7619.html?_gl=1*nq9836*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjwmJjSBhB-EiwAkZgxiy03XlDK-C340JYhiJWv5hGv1IPeJJUyK7LzZ2iIKUYjz5CMGwFj8BoCKioQAvD_BwE&gbraid=0AAAAAD-jzFMS3C67lVe2YlOyIfndM6UGx

Dark absorbs heat, white and silver reflects eg thermal solar panels are just black tubes to absorb the heat for hot water

My perfect fit blinds are all white on the outside, silver on the honeycomb and cream on the room-facing side

So far so good and I am enjoying the muted light and privacy from the bubblewrap. I cannot think of anything worse than trying to do this when a heatwave has started

Normally by now I would have tilted/closed the west shutters as I get a lot of glare and reflected heat from the pale rendered house opposite, the E sun is shining strongly on that house. Win win today, no glare or reflected heat and the shutters on that side are fully open and I have light

Thanks for the info Karmalady, the bubble wrap is impressive! My up date is that the silver mesh has worked very well (fixed to guttering around south facing extension). Blocking out heat but allowing light/ view is making all the difference
I have all of my main downstairs rooms at the back (south) and found having to block everything off with blinds/curtains almost more unpleasant than the heat!
I am ordering more mesh for sitting room now but will need to use fixings in the brick work.
Sadly, I think this will be 'the norm' from now on for our summers

KCC, I have soft render on the outside and dare not fix anything to the wall. Well done, that sounds very workable

I am testing a piece of greenhouse shading on my utility room door. It has eyelets and the rod does not fit through. Folding it over the rod, using spring pegs and it is shorter than I would like. I ordered the same length shade net from temu so am thinking I will need to sew a channel at the top for the rods.

The bottom of the net will blow in the wind but I can use my weight bags, the ones I made for cover on my raised beds, the shade net needs to be longer so a piece at the top will help

I will make the channels out of fabric and sew them to the shade net but will need to add some loops to support them on the command hooks. the span is 2m, too much for rods on their own. I was counting on the eyelets

Tbh, it is messy but every little helps and I am appreciating not being in a dark cave.

I have to take the keys out of my French doors as they open outwards, luckily the utility room door opens inwards and gives me access

karmalady

Whitewavemark2

We needs exterior blinds that are used in Mediterranean countries.

Not feasible for most if windows open outwards

Quite possibly, but would you have your window open if you needed the blinds down?

Thank you for the info karmalady.
Currently our kitchen has a fixed window above the sink east facing with a 3 pane hopper window at the top. I,have covered the hopper window panes with thick white card and draped a folded white cotton sheet over the lower half shutting the hopper window onto it to hold it in place.

This has made a great difference to the dazzling early morning sun. Cant tell heat wise as it is cooler anyway since fixing it.

I have a cataract op on one eye on Monday which is why the sun has felt extra dazzling. The card and sheet have helped a lot.
We also have render on the outside walls on the back of the house whivh is why SIL put 2 hooks onto the wooden window frame for me to hang the shading stuff when it arrives and not into the wall.
Sadly I decluttered to the charity shop 3 single striped cotton sheets (from my childhood) very recently. They could have been used by me or DD. Oh well gone now.