how to control light, heat and glare in South facing room

5 years ago

we have a large window and doors in our South facing kitchen/dining space.
this recent heatwave has made me realise just how hot this space gets and the glare from the sun is very strong.
we will be replacing both door and window - are there any solutions to solving the problem of heat, light and glare?
I'm.thinking blinds but wondered if there were other solutions to consider

Featured Answer

E D

5 years ago

Maybe think outside the box? Quite literally...

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Comments (12)

Sonia
5 years ago
I have a south facing garden and trying to keep my kitchen cool at the mo is difficult. I have a Roman blind in the window, and that does the job well, and vertical blinds at the patio doors. I close them just before the sun comes round. I’m not that keen on the vertical blind, a bit too officey but it does the job well. I’ve wondered about getting an awning fitted, but made to measure are pricey, but i think they will keep the room cool.
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Hi Tani Our garden is west facing & we have a window either side of the bifolds. We chose not to have roof openings to avoid extra heat from the sun. We are also considering adding an pergola/awning or something similar so that we can have the blinds open in summer without the hot sun streaming in. I am not a fan of hot weather (hence the integral blinds & air con) so avoid it as much as possible. I’m a bit confused what you mean about access to the traffic door...ours is by the kitchen end & is ideal. I’ve added a few pics so you can see our set up.
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We have a large rooflight at one end of our 8m south facing extension which gets the morning east sun and another at the opposite end - so nothing in the middle. I don’t find the rooflights too hot - they are just normal triple glazed lights. The hot part is the doors as they are fully glazed across the whole back ie 6m. We get sun all day and it can get very hot. I would initially suggest looking at solar coating (the proper stuff isn’t cheap - maybe £140-180 per door panel?) to reduce the heat in the first place. Not so bad if you don’t have that many windows/doors. Alternatively individual roller blinds for each panel that are designed to reduce the heat but still alow sunlight in. You can lower them midday when it’s too hot. (we will be doing this for next year as it’s cheaper than building a full permanent structure!) Or a wind out awning of course which is more flexible.
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Aren't they inset into the glass though? It's too late for us 😔 We are getting an air con unit though. It's about £1200 and although it won't be used a huge amount (it's a heater as well) it will be half the price of getting proper blinds in and will be instant cooling as I think the room will still feel warm even with blinds. (we have two roof lights as well!) For living purposes it's never an issue - we just open the door but much harder to deal with with guests in.
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LTS
5 years ago
We have integral blinds in our extension bifolds & windows. Our garden is west facing & the blinds have been a welcome relief in this hot weather. We also have air con but the external unit isn’t being hooked up until July so the blinds have been fab.
Tani H-S
5 years ago
We are wondering about this as well for our upcoming south facing extension. The blinds are over £1k extra in the bifold doors so we are thinking of having an awning that comes out when we want it to. It would be good for sun protection for eating outside as well as shower proof. Not 100% sure how much they are but think they started from around £400 for a manual wind one
PRO
Zeta Interiors
5 years ago
Hi Heidi,

Anti Glare glass could be an option to consider as well as integral blinds.

Best of luck!
Sonia
5 years ago
I did look into it Tani. You can buy them ready made for about £3-400 but then you have to install them yourself (not an option for me!). Made to measure average out £1300 and I only have a teeny, tiny house. Another option is semicircular parasols although I think they look a bit bulky and risk blowing over if it’s windy. This is a dilemma!
Heidi
Original Author
5 years ago
Ooh I like the awning. And it would shade the patio for the kids to play. Self installed.isnt as expensive as I'd thought.

I like the idea.of the anti glare glass -.I'm sure I've seen somewhere it can offer uv protection, too.
E D
5 years ago
Yes, awnings are great. They come in different price ranges and if you're not insisting on an electrical one they're quite reasonably priced.

I'm a little surprised they are not that common in the UK.

I genuinely wonder if glare is really a problem btw. Surely with venitien blinds this is eradicated.
kazzh
5 years ago
Living in Australia, where it seems 34c days are becoming more regular during summer, even in the southern states, definately recommend ideas that keep the sun off glass, in combination with blockout curtains! We have 3 panel glass slider which definately needs the umbrella to shade from the afternoon sun, but in it is wonderful for winter sun for the solar gain.
Chris Goodchild
5 years ago
Go to a good glazier and ask about solar film for the windows, it will cut down light according to the grade you install as well as being UV absorbent which will cut down on damage and fading of fabrics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_film
Tani H-S
2 years ago
What did everyone do re aircon or blinds?
We were considering renting our house out at some point but it gets hot in summer which is not an issue for living here as you can open the doors slightly and it cools straight away but for guests - it's not that easy.
Thinking of blackout blinds for sleeping but are there sheer ones which keep the light but reflect the heat??

Also aircon - anything not big and ugly that would work in a large open plan room?
LTS
2 years ago
Love our air con but the unit isn’t small. We had contemplated boxing it in somehow with wall units but never bothered in the end. Doesn’t bother me at all.

how to control light, heat and glare in South facing room

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how to control light, heat and glare in South facing room

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