Home-heat control--window "tint" idea

Girlfriends town-home is crappy, with a crappy AC, crappy windows, and crappy blinds/drapes. I'll be moving in to the place in 7 days for at least 1 month, and I don't do well with the heat.

The AC was off all day. Temperature was 85 inside; we turned on the AC and set it at 72. We went out to dinner, came back, and the temperature is 79. 5 hours later, it is still at 79. So, I do some investigating. First problem is that there are essentially only 4 vents (not including basement or bathrooms) and all 4 are next to a window. Great.

We have fans. They're right on the vents. This does help, but not enough. So I'm thinking to block off the windows--all of them are east or west facing. My thought is to get cardboard and wrap it up in aluminum foil--the foil should reflect the heat, and the cardboard should provide a tiny bit of insulation. We're not concerned about the lack of sunlight, and sadly, can't afford doing it the "right" way. I'm thinking I can get this done for about $10 for the entire place.

What do you guys think? Will it work? Should I try something else? Other thoughts/ideas/tips?

Oh, just one kinda cool thing--I burned myself on the door coming in the other day and was wondering just how hot it was, so I took a cup of water and threw it on it and the brick wall beside it. The water on the door simply evaporated quickly; but on the brick it sizzled and steamed. Eeek.

http://www.amazon.com/Gila-JS248-Static-Control-Automotive/dp/B004YJWA74/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_3

Something like that maybe? I'm using some in my living room and it seems to help.

Oh, and the AC does blow cold.

Check the filter. Check the freon. Close the drapes.

I know that some heavy "sun blocking" curtains helped our house a TON

if you're dealing with cheap single paine windows then you def want to add some sort of insulation... at min drapes... but your foil + cardboard method sounds like it would help... worth a shot

just hang some white towels in each window...

once that's done, look at airflow thru the house- does the air from the vents have a good unobstructed flowpath back thru the return vents and back thru the AC unit?

Just a heads up-fans are a heat gain. The only "cool" that comes from a fan is if the fan is blowing directly on you or moving cooler air in from another place.

I second the idea of sun blocker drapes. I have had good luck with them.

An update: We left the AC on all night, and it did get down to 72. So the AC does work.

"Fans are a heat gain"--well, yes, but not when they help with the air flow. For the entire kitchen/living room, there are only 2 air vents. In my parents house, there are at least 4 for the same amount of space.

Sun blocker drapes are a no-go. We simply don't have the money.

mtn wrote: Sun blocker drapes are a no-go. We simply don't have the money.

Blackout fabric from a fabric store is CHEAP.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Gray-Cotton-Blackout-Fabric-/180552741020?pt=BI_Textile_Equipment&hash=item2a09c8309c#ht_1461wt_922

I put sunblocker drapes on my west-facing picture window. They are deep red and acted like a heat sink, even after my wife made white liners, though it's better with the liners. But the room is quite a bit cooler. I will tint the window next. Our east-facing door-wall was a are where huge solar gains happening. The tint helped a LOT.

I'll second what Grtechguy said. My wife made the drapes herself. I can't remember how much it was but I'm even cheaper than logdog so it wasn't expensive at all.

Have you gone all the way back to the air handling unit and made sure all the butterfly dampers are wide open? Also, see if your system has a 2 speed fan and get it on the higher speed if it's not already.

You might also look into sun blocking miniblinds. I bought some from the Great Satan Wal Mart online for ~$11 apiece.

mtn wrote: An update: We left the AC on all night, and it did get down to 72. So the AC does work.

Yep, AC isn't magical. When you don't run the A/C and let everything in the house get heat soaked, that is a lot of heat it has to move to the outside.

With the heat like it is, we ours down to 69 at night so it has a head start on the day. Yes it runs all day, but I'm not coming after work or after jogging 3 miles to an 80 degree house.

Check to make sure that the ductwork visible from the supply and return grilles look clean. Then make sure that the area infront of the grilles are free from obstruction (drapes, furniture, dog bed,...).

If your house has a large return in the central living area, make sure that other rooms are able to let air get back to the large return even if individual room returns are present.

Check the basement's supply and return grilles. They should be closed. Actually if you can live with the basement door open, open up the basement's returns. After the supply air from upstairs gets warmed up, it will be drawn back downstairs and replace the cool air that the open returns picked up.

If you don't use a spare bedroom, use the balancing dampers and turn off upstairs/first floor rooms and keep their doors shut.

We used to use that plastic wrap looking stuff to seal up windows for the winter. I wonder if it works the same in the summer?

PO of my house put solar screens on all of the windows, makes a fair bit of difference, as when the HOA was having the exterior painted they pulled them all off, and it was a good bit warmer for that week or so. they're also a lot less likely to get you hassled by the apartment complex or other homeowners. we had a renter here put foil in the windows of one place and they were told to pull it down within a week.

mtn wrote: An update: We left the AC on all night, and it did get down to 72. So the AC does work. "Fans are a heat gain"--well, yes, but not when they help with the air flow. For the entire kitchen/living room, there are only 2 air vents. In my parents house, there are at least 4 for the same amount of space. Sun blocker drapes are a no-go. We simply don't have the money.

In the summer 72 degreesF is "cold". Isn't 78 the suggested setting for AC.?

iceracer wrote: In the summer 72 degreesF is "cold". Isn't 78 the suggested setting for AC.?

At 78, I'm sweating like a pig.

My comfort threshold is about 74-75.

I keep my A/C (when it's on) set to 80. Normally, I don't turn the A/C on till it's 93 or more outside. At that point, walking into an 80 degree house feels great. That and we keep ceiling fans on just about all day.

does she own said town-home? 3M sells some pretty neat clear window films that can cut heat transfer without looking like tinted windows.

Strizzo wrote: does she own said town-home? 3M sells some pretty neat clear window films that can cut heat transfer without looking like tinted windows.

No, that is part of the problem. Landlord doesn't care--the AC blows cold and he doesn't pay utilities. No one wants to put too much money into the place since we'll be gone in 9 months--it is walking a tightrope figuring out how much would we save in utilities and how much it costs to do the upgrades.

I think that for now we're going to check out autozone/walmart/meijer for the window tint. If that is too expensive, I'll try my cardboard and aluminum foil idea; I'll also float the heat blocking drapes to the girlfriends roommate who is pretty handy with a needle and thread.

wow.. you guys are really heat sensitive... you would die in my non-airconditioned place... it gets up into the 90s with no effort.. have seen 105 (spent that day in the pool)

mad_machine wrote: wow.. you guys are really heat sensitive... you would die in my non-airconditioned place... it gets up into the 90s with no effort.. have seen 105 (spent that day in the pool)

Yep, I probably would have moved out or spent the entire day in the library or pool or ice rink...

The alternative is that I'll sleep with the windows open in the winter. I'm perfectly happy keeping the house at around 62 (not that the others are okay with that).

also keep in mind, heat pumps don't deal well with big swings in temperature settings, so for some of them it is tough to drop the whole house temp more than a few degrees, especially in the heat of the day. have you tried leaving the a/c on and set to a reasonable temp all day?

+1 to Strizzo's suggestions.

And seriously, 78 isn't that hot indoors, if you tried burning a little less money on such cold temps inside you could go and buy some window tint for the good of the cause.