Roll Up Exterior Sun Shades

We have a big expanse of east facing windows that catch a lot of morning sun. In the summer this results in a lot of unwanted heat gain, and makes the inside temperature increase dramatically when the sun in on these windows. It also results in a lot of glare.

We tried a set of these exterior roll up shades. The shades are made out of a shade cloth like material. They block a fairly large percentage of the gain, and they do it on the outside where it is much more effective. The shades still allow a pretty nice view even when they are down -- its a bit filtered, but nice. They definitely make a significant difference on both the heat gain and the glare.

The combination of these shades and a few other changes has made the house much more comfortable without the need for AC.

We bought ours at the local big box hardware. I think that that the brand was Coolaroo. They come in a variety of widths and lengths, but none matched our windows. I was able to buy ones that were a few inches too wide and cut the width down. This was fairly easy, but requires a hacksaw to cut the metal roller. The shade material cuts nicely and cleanly with a scissors.

The shades have little anchors at the bottom for winds. Ours have been through several episodes of high winds with no damage.

Raise and lower the shades using the beaded
cord.

Lower tie down arrangement

Gary July 24, 2009