Should i get tint, sun shades or just blackout curtains? (appointed, apartment complex)

[JasonS]

What’s my best option to keep the house cooler in this AZ summer as far as my windows?

I already have 2in wood blinds on most of the windows, I have a few small windows in the front of the house that are about 16 feet from the floor that will not have blinds, I’m thinking about getting a light tint on those for sure.

But for the rest of the windows I’m considering getting tint or sun shades but I was wondering if "energy efficient" blackout type curtains will be just as effective and also make the house look better on the inside.

If I get nice looking blackout type curtains for my windows would adding tint or sun shades make a difference at that point or be just wasting money? Most likely i will be getting curtains anyways because of the wife =)

[TurcoLoco]

If you are a married guy, then I'd urge you to wait for your wife's opinion, otherwise...

[AzDreamer]

Keeping the sun off of your house will be more effective at keeping the heat out than blocking the light from the sun after it's in your house.

[joninaz]

I've gone with indoor blinds, new double pane low E-squared argon gas windows, etc. The most instant difference came from outside shade screens on the windows... they simply replace a typical fly screen setup and do a fantastic job.

You want to keep the heat from entering in the first place. If you rely on blinds, the sun's heat is already inside the window pane. Don't let it cross that border!

[CheyDee]

I have them all: 2" wood blinds, black out drapes, double pane windows and sunscreens. Sunscreens made a huge difference. Black out drapes, not so much.

[JasonS]

Originally Posted by CheyDee

I have them all: 2" wood blinds, black out drapes, double pane windows and sunscreens. Sunscreens made a huge difference. Black out drapes, not so much.

Did you get them all at different times? For instance did you get the black out drapes before or after the sun screens?

If after the sun screens then they probably wouldnt make a difference but did you have the blackout drapes before the sun screens and they didnt make a difference on keeping the room cooler?

Maybe i will just get regular curtains and sun shades.

Are the retractable ones expensive? Can you open and close them from inside the house thru the window? Seems like it would be a pain to put them up and take them down 2 times a year, my house is 2 floors.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

When I was a student at UTA (Texas) I lived in a not so nice apartment complex. I lined my bedroom window with foil, it kept the heat from entering. Later when I grew up and past the idea of putting foil in a window I had pleated blinds that had a foil like fabric built into them. They did make a difference.

I would think the kind of product you can put on your windows that makes them tinted when you look from the inside out but makes them like a mirror on the outside would be pretty helpful.

[CheyDee]

Originally Posted by JasonS

Did you get them all at different times? For instance did you get the black out drapes before or after the sun screens?

If after the sun screens then they probably wouldnt make a difference but did you have the blackout drapes before the sun screens and they didnt make a difference on keeping the room cooler?

Maybe i will just get regular curtains and sun shades.

Are the retractable ones expensive? Can you open and close them from inside the house thru the window? Seems like it would be a pain to put them up and take them down 2 times a year, my house is 2 floors.

I got the 2" wood blinds first. I even spent extra for routeless ones, so they wouldn't have the little holes in the wood where the cords pass through. They made a small difference, but not enough that I would recommend them as a means to keep heat out. Thank goodness I bought them because of aesthetics or else I would have been very disappointed, since my windows are not standard size and each blind was rather pricey to custom.

On my southern and west facing windows, I added black out drapes. They made a significant difference in the amount of light and heat that came in. I kept the blinds closed in addition, to maximize the effects.

I had a security screen door installed on my arcadia doors, which face directly south. They came with sunscreens. I was stunned at the difference it makes! There is NO COMPARISON to the blinds/black out drapes combination. It made so much of a difference, that I bit the bullet and had sunscreens installed on all of my east, west, and south facing windows. (BTW, SRP will recommend contractors who will give you an $ .80/sf rebate off sunscreens. I do recall it is for a limited time only, so if you have SRP and are considering them, you may want to call them asap.) What is even more neat about them is because they are so efficient at keeping heat out, I no longer keep all of the blinds closed/drapes drawn 24/7 and have light instead of darkness inside the house. No more living in a dungeon! I will probably still close it all on the very hottest of days, but so far it hasn't been necessary.

I plan on leaving mine in year round, since they are useful against insects as well as the sun. They do not open/close, since it covers the entire window and not just the part which opens. I can not speak about retractable ones, since I do not have those.

In light of my own personal experiences, I agree 100% with the advice others have offered previously on this thread: Preventing the sun from coming into the house is FAR more efficient than blocking it after it is inside the house.

HTH.