Heat reflective window film. A Success Story.

fretmeister · September 2023

My home office has French doors right next to my desk and they are south facing. It gets stupidly hot sometimes and in last year's mad heatwave I resorted to sticking kitchen foil on the outside to get the temps down a bit.

This year I decided to do it properly.

Most advertised window films are for fixing to the inside of the window and that is generally a really bad idea for double glazing as the heat reflects back into the sealed unit, increasing pressures within it and can cause the glass to crack. Some toughened glass is ok, but even that degrades over time, so it's best to stick with external stuff.

I decided I wanted the most reflective option for the best temp control. Getting natural light through isn't really an issue as there are office lights anyway.

After a lot of research I ordered some external film from Purlfrost and I installed it over the weekend. The glass needs a damn good scrub first and for a few extra quid they can supply a little kit with a razor glass scraper, little squeegee etc.

So I scrubbed the glass, scraped it and scrubbed it again. Then followed the instructions to fit it. That involves a squirt bottle and a lot of water with a few drops of washing up liquid in it. The window and the adhesive side of the film get soaked in it so it can slip around and get into place.

I ordered pre-cut stuff after measuring up, and it was really accurate and only needed minimal trimming once in place.

The instructions reckon that 1 person can do it, but for larger windows 2 people is a must to control the film once the adhesive side has been exposed - don't want anything to touch it. No grit, flies etc.

So it took about an hour to install including cleaning the windows and squeegeeing out all the bubbles.

As it is external the makers recommend waiting for 2-3 weeks to allow the adhesive to cure properly and then applying a silicon sealant round the edges to stop any rain getting in behind.

We have one other downstairs south facing room, and the temperature difference between them is now massive. Maybe as much as 10 degrees. I will check that when I find my gauge. I think I will be doing more rooms with the film when I get a chance.

There's still plenty of light coming through, and during the day it also works as a privacy screen. At night there is no privacy benefit.

I used this stuff:

External Grade Mirror Anti Fade Window Film | Purlfrost

So overall I'm very impressed with it.

Of course I have now noticed the body of a tiny insect under it, but it's in a corner and I am not taking it all off again!

Just thought I'd mention this for anyone else suffering in hot rooms.

roberty · September 2023

Have you been crushed to death under a heat reflective window film that wasn't your fault? You may be entitled to condensation

PolarityMan · September 2023

That sounds like the worst movie ever

Chalky · September 2023

We put some on one side of the conservatory roof and it has been brilliantly effective.

Jo-to-po · September 2023

As someone currently roasting to death this is highly relevant to my interests. I had some of the slap-it-on-the-inside stuff you mentioned and I thought it was totally useless; will have a look at this stuff.

fretmeister · September 2023

Chalky said:

We put some on one side of the conservatory roof and it has been brilliantly effective.

I think we are going to do our conservatory with it too. It's all south facing and is far too hot to use in the summer.

Chalky · September 2023

fretmeister said:

Chalky said:

We put some on one side of the conservatory roof and it has been brilliantly effective.

I think we are going to do our conservatory with it too. It's all south facing and is far too hot to use in the summer.

We only went up as far as we could safely reach but it has still done the job.

Emp_Fab · September 2023

Jo-to-po said:

As someone currently roasting to death this is highly relevant to my interests. I had some of the slap-it-on-the-inside stuff you mentioned and I thought it was totally useless; will have a look at this stuff.

As someone not wealthy enough to live in a house with a conservatory, this thread is not at all relevant to my interests.

I shall come back once I'm considerably richer than yaou.

equalsql · September 2023

I just paint on Summer Shade greenhouse whitener when the heats extreme. Dirt cheap and it works like a charm, the windows stay cool even in the direct sun. When the hot season is over, a quick wash down with a soft brush and water hose cleans it off nicely. I found those reflective coatings really darken the rooms in the winter months.

Sporky · September 2023

PolarityMan said:

That sounds like the worst movie ever

There's a twise - it's told from the point of view of the fly.

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Heat reflective window film. A Success Story.

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