Screen to the left, thermal film to the right. (Taken with Instagram)
Yesterday, in an effort to find ways to cool down my room (short of getting an AC), I stumbled upon stuff called Heat Control Window Film. Essentially window tint for your home windows… according to Gila’s product description:
“The Gila 3 ft. x 15 ft. Titanium Heat Control Window Film will allow you to reflect up to 72% of the sun’s heat to keep your home cool and to reduce summer cooling costs. This film blocks up to 99% of UV rays to prevent your furniture and decorations from fading.”
My large apartment windows soak up all the morning and afternoon sun, turning my room like an oven until I get home in the evening. Lip balm in drawers in my closet are even nice and melty.
So I bought this stuff. It sells for $36 at Home Depot in the drapes and blinds section. They’re sold in boxed rolls like kitchen aluminum foil. When you install it on your windows, you’re basically putting it up like wallpaper. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass to do alone… but I managed. All you need is a squeegee, a sharp xacto blade, and their application solution (which is essentially water and dish soap).
If you’re in the same situation as me, I’d recommend this stuff as a fix. While my room is still warm, it’s amazingly no longer an oven… making it now tolerable. In fact, the heat didn’t wake me up this morning. Thumbs up.