I actually felt heat from the sun the other day. Summer is coming. Those of you who have gardens must be getting excited. In a short while the front yards will take bloom; the veggies will show their potential - and the sun will be streaming in the windows; heating up the house; bleaching the floors and the fabric on the windows will be slowly disintegrating.
But, you say, I have blinds on the windows; or the windows face north; or the fabric is off to the side. Sorry; but the sun, direct or otherwise, will do damage. I made some piping from a clients pale blue cotton fabric; left it on a roll under a north facing window in my workroom for 1 day. The next day the sun had bleached the top layer to yellow.
I have seen cotton drapes fall apart after 1 year of sun exposure; silk and linen will discolor in a matter of months. Once again - direct or indirect; doesn’t matter; the sun will affect fabric, leather and hardwood.
What can you do? You can replace your existing windows with top of the line new ones. You can add blackout liners to your existing drapes. You can buy new blackout blinds. All good options but the blinds or drapes must be closed in order to be effective and new windows may not be in the budget this year. Or you can have a solar film applied to your windows; solar film will block up to 98% of damaging UV rays; as much as 82% of solar heat and can reduce your cooling costs by 30%. Best of all it's not expensive.
A client had new window treatments done for her south facing living room. She took my advice (bless her) and had the film applied. When I called a few weeks later to see how everything was, she told me that for the first time in 8 years in the house she was able to sit in her living room and admire her front garden. The heat had always been too much - and she no longer had to worry about the sun bleaching her sofa or floor.
The local supplier of Solar Tech Films: Jonas Nohr 259-540-8468. Check the website Solartechfilms.ca
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| On the left- it is 102 outside the film, inside 65. |
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| Piping Sunbleach. One day. No direct sun. |
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