After this years extreme heat...
Entry posted by MikeGrahamT21 in External Blinds
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I decided I had to do something to combat the eventual indoor overheating which didn't involve installing air conditioning, this may be needed at some point if temperatures keep rising but i'd rather keep it as a last resort.
I've been using all of the usual tricks in the book, opening everything up when its cooler outside than in, and shutting everything up during the day, which worked as well as it could, the bungalow is pretty well insulated so this strategy worked in the most part, but the prolonged heatwaves we had and tropical nights made it an impossible job to shift the heat. Keeping the internal blinds and curtains shut also helped, but the triple glazed units eventually heat up and then retain that heat for some time. Internally the frames/panes hit around 40C, which all adds to that air temperature over time.
I have 6 south facing roof windows, and many years ago decided to get the external awning blinds which made a huge difference to the internal temperature of the windows on a hot day. The 2G ones used to hit well over 70C midday, but with the external blinds that came down to 50C, still hot but a big difference. The newer 3G ones, i currently have one with and one without an external blind, just bought one at the time to see how much difference it made on the newer version of the windows, as you'd expect this is much less of a difference as they are just better overall. Without the external blind the frame/pane hit 55C and with the blind, 47C. This was during the prolonged June heatwave when air temperatures were also very high.
I looked into getting some external blinds made for the other windows to bring those internal temperatures down in extreme heat, and maybe just maybe give myself a better nights sleep when it happens, but was shocked at the cost. When I read of the impending El Nino and that chances of more heat next year, I decided that i'd get some external blind material, and make my own.
Cue the sewing machine, not something i'm overly familiar with, so with plenty of practice, and all the right bits (as they're for use outside, needed UV stabilised polyester thread, a special needle as its thicker fabric and a special foot for the sewing machine due to the 'stickiness' of the fabric, combined with polyester webbing to strengthen the hems, and finally stainless steel fixings to stop rust), i made some very slow progress but have finally completed my first blind, decided to do the bedroom one first on the back of the bungalow, so its not particularly seen from the street side whilst i get better at the whole process, but on the whole i'm pretty pleased with the outcome.
And from the inside the outlook is like this. Very dimmed light inside, but a good view out.
Obviously time will tell as to how effective it will be, but im confident it will have a good impact.
The two windows on back of bungalow are surrounded by 100mm thick EPS External Wall Insulation, which provided its own unique challenge for fixing. I found these Fischer fixings which I hadn't come across before, and have to say I'm really impressed with them, though they are rather expensive.
So first one down, and concept works, just another 4 to make and fit before next year!
Total cost including the Fischer fixings for all the material etc was no more than £300 for all 5 windows. Fabric came from this online shop, in bronze: https://www.fabricuk.com/fabrics/2298-sun-shade-mesh-wide-width.html
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