As the sun climbs higher and the days grow longer, the benefits of effective window shading become ever more apparent. Not only does it play a crucial role in keeping your home cool and comfortable, but it also helps reduce energy consumption and protect your interiors from harmful UV rays. Here we explore the different types of window shading solutions available, their advantages, and how to choose the right option to enhance both the functionality and aesthetics of your living space. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your current setup or install new shades, understanding the impact of proper window shading will transform your approach to home climate control.
As Australians, we all know what to expect > heat! Whether it’s isolated hot days or in heatwaves, it’s going to get hotter. To give our air conditioners the best chance to keep us comfortable, the best passive strategy is shading.
There are two options: External Shading and Internal Shading.
Firstly we’ll consider External Shading.
External shading keeps the sun off the windows in the first place. There are two main options, each with its advantages and disadvantages. Bear in mind that the disadvantages are magnified by single, as opposed to double (or secondary) glazing.
The Top Hung Awning External Shade
If you look at the left-hand side of the above diagram, there’s a representation of a typical, dark-colored, external awning blind as installed in millions of homes.
There are two problems here:
- Firstly, the blind is very close to the window, leaving very little volume of air to contain or disperse the heat.
- Secondly, you’ll notice that there’s little or no airgap at the top of the blind.
Either one of these would reduce the airflow through which trapped heat can rise and escape. So what happens next?
The sun hits the blind, heating up both the blind and the air between it and the window behind. Because the heat has nowhere to go, it gets conducted through the glass into the home. To make matters worse, the dark-coloured material of the blind absorbs rather than reflects heat. This further increases the heat load radiated through the glass and into the home.
In fact, if you stood inside that window, as indeed I have done in clients’ homes, you could actually feel that heat radiating from the blind.
As a real life example, have a look at this.
Period Short Awning Hood
Limited External Shade
Although the Awning Hood on this home is pleasing to the eye and completely in tune with this lovely period home, its functionality as external shading is limited. It’s partially useful on the north side of the house during the middle of the day when the sun is at its highest and directly over the hood. However, before and after midday, the sun is going to be sneaking in through the sides of the hood and onto the glass, simply because it’s not wide enough to prevent it.
This type of external shading, although attractive, fails in its primary duty as shading for the majority of the day. It is possible to have something that is visually sympathetic to your home and perform well – but this is not it.
Eave Suspended Blind
Now contrast that with the other side of the house where we’ve got a light-coloured blind suspended from the eave of the house. You’ll see that:
- the blind is much further away from the glass
- it is well ventilated at both the top and bottom
- it’s a lighter, more reflective colour, so the material itself will stay cooler
There’s no heat build up behind it because it’s very well ventilated and the distance of the glass is much greater. This means far less conducted heat through the glass and almost no heat radiated through it.
Here’s one exactly like that.
Suspended Roller Shades
A Better Option with Room for Improvement
The blinds are fixed to the veranda beam. They’re suspended on stainless steel wires connected to the hand railing. A longer blind would have offered better shade later on a summer day, and there are some gaps between the blinds but there’s considerable airflow under the railing, between the blinds and the glazing as well as at the end of the veranda.
Style over Function
But it’s still possible to take the aesthetics of a suspended shade but undermine its function as a piece of shade. One way is by using it as an awning – as you can see in this image. Reduced air space, no air gap at the top to facilitate airflow and heat dispersion, dark coloured material to maximize heat absorption. A triumph of style over function.
Suspended Roller Shade (Style over Function)
However, the following examples of suspended shading don’t make this mistake. The basic principles are applied in a variety of attractive and interesting ways.
Maximize Winter Sun and Block Unwanted Summer Sun
Here we can see a retractable roof. This blind extends on a belt and you can run it out as far as you want to have the level of shade you require.
For those on a tighter budget, the same functionality is available with a pleated patio blind. This is basically a Roman Blind that is pulled out across horizontal tracks to provide the same kind of functionality.
Retractable Roof
DIY Adjustable Verandah Roof
Below is another excellent example, created by an ecoMaster client, of an adjustable veranda roof. By pulling the rope and fixing it on a clip he’s able to fix the roof louvres at whatever angle he wants. By letting the rope go the roof automatically closes and is weatherproof.
Louvred Slats
Rope Pulley for Louvred Slats
Aesthetically Pleasing But Poor Shade Function
These windows here, as well. Dark timber, up against the glass; it’s really not going to be such a good result there. But this one’s kind of different.
Thermal Roller Shutters for Shade
But this one’s kind of different. Now, this is right up against the glass; this roller shutter, but if the roller shutters have insulated pieces in them; that is, that they’re filled with polystyrene, then this can actually work quite well.
Internal Shading
In some situations interior shades can also be effective. They need to reflect the light toward the outside, so that any radiant heat admitted through the glass is reflected by the shade back through the window. Meaning that only a small amount of the sun’s radiant heat can remain inside the building.
Curtains, Vertical blinds, Roll-up shades, Venetian blinds and a number of other interior attachments are common additions to residential windows. Generally used more for aesthetics and privacy purposes rather than the prevention of solar heat; however they can still manage to be effective heat blockers.
The key is in a product’s ability to solar reflect. The higher the reflection, the greater the quantity of radiant heat reflected back through the window to the outside. For aesthetic purposes you can have any colour or pattern you want for the room side of the shade, but the inside should be bright; white or near-white is best.
Honeycomb Blinds
Roller Shades
Venetian Blinds
Curtains
Plantation Shutters
An advantage of interior shades is that they can be opened, closed or partially opened easily to suit your needs. For example, you can have your shades wide open during the morning for maximum view and light, then when the sun is strongest on that side of the building simply close them.
If you feel your interior shade is inadequate, you may want to consider applying window treatment.
Renshade
Alternatively, as a removable solution, you may be interested in Renshade. It’s a fabulous product, designed and manufactured in Australia. Renshade is a low-cost solution for reducing summer heat and glare but allows far more gentle light into your home.
It is inexpensive and easy to install with no special tools or equipment required, making it ideal for renters.
Renshade can be fitted to the glass with Velcro dots. It is quite effective. As a bonus, you can still see out. You can always see from the dark side to the light side. During the day, you can see from inside to outside. At night it is the other way around.
And, of course, you can also use Renshade in frames if you want to make them more robust than just using the Velcro dots.
This makes Renshade suitable for reducing the heat underneath
* polycarbonate roofing
* skylights
It is also useful to reduce the heat load in caravans and recreational vehicles.
High Rise Apartments
In high-rise apartments, where there is no opportunity to install external shading and direct sunlight can significantly increase indoor temperatures, Renshade proves to be an invaluable tool for maintaining a comfortable living environment. This reflective foil not only blocks out excessive heat and glare but also filters your view, unlike traditional blockout blinds or curtains. Renshade’s effectiveness in reflecting heat makes it a smart choice for urban dwellers looking to enhance their comfort without sacrificing natural light. By installing Renshade, residents of high-rise apartments can enjoy cooler interiors, reduced energy costs, and protection from UV rays, making it a practical, inexpensive and removable addition to any apartment.
Aiding with Shading – Inside the Window
Now, just one more thing about reducing the heatload inside your home.
If you have drapes, they can work quite well provided that there is an effective pelmet system in place.
In reference to the diagram above. It represents airflow in winter time. The heat comes in, warms the air, it gets less dense and rises, it comes into the room and draws cooler air up under the drapes. And the old granny pelmets; the box pelmets, really short circuit that whole thing, so, although they’re not highly stylish they do actually serve a good purpose. If we could really short circuit this part here without having the box pelmet, well, that would be ideal, wouldn’t it?
Short Circuit Bad Air Flow with Invisible Pelmets
The way to do that is with what we call Invisible Pelmets A thin piece of acrylic that fits on top of the architrave and the track brackets, and serves to do the same thing; short circuit the path of air behind the drapes. You can get those from the ecoMaster store; they come in a kit, and are pretty easy to fit. That’s it! So, if you have drapes that are on a track, that’s a good way to treat those.
People Also Ask:
⇒ Where can I learn more about this from an industry expert?
ecoMaster has been working in the energy efficiency / retrofit arena for over 20 years. During that time we learnt an enormous amount about diagnosing issues, distinctions on various products as well as developing the best installation practices. We have done the research, so you don’t have to. All that information has now been condensed into a series of ecoMasterClasses. Click here to gain access.
⇒ What is the cheapest way to shade windows?
Use a sheet, towel or even blanket to block light. Make sure you cover most of the window if not the entire window. This technique is common and can be a very cheap solution if your budget is extremely tight. Please bear in mind this should not be a permanent solution and has obvious drawbacks in regards to aesthetics, functionality and durability. A good non permanent but durable solution is Renshade. And you can simply remove it from your windows once summer is over, roll it up in a tube and bring it out again in time for the next summer season!
⇒ How much does it cost to install window shades?
Obviously this will change depending on the type of product you wish to use. On average you may be paying around $400-$800 per window. For heavily customized window treatments, the cost to install blinds, shades or curtains may be much higher.
⇒ I would like to prepare for summer, but I’m on tight budget. What should I do?
Preparing for summer when you’re on a tight budget can feel challenging, but there are effective and affordable strategies you can implement to keep your home cool and comfortable.
For a proven method to manage extreme temperatures in a budget-friendly ways, checking out our detailed blog post on ‘cocooning’. The method is now called Climate Safe Rooms, but the concept is identical.
Dive into the blog here and start making your home summer-ready today!
What’s Next?
We hope this article has helped you learn more about shading options. This in turn will help you on your energy and thermal efficiency retrofit journey to make your home more comfortable all year round, and reduce your costs and carbon emissions.
Next, explore An energy efficiency door is a beautiful door If you found this article helpful, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You’ll find many more helpful “How To” videos there. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay in the loop. For more great information on how to make your home more energy and thermally efficient subscribe NOW to ecoBites. ecoBites are free bite size chunks of the latest energy efficiency information making it quick and easy for you to absorb.
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Throw some shade
at your windows today.
They’ll thank you for it!
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