SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
mrsbeasley_gw

How I saved money on Air Conditioning

mrsbeasley
10 years ago

Last summer I made a special window shade for my south facing window in order to save money on air conditioning. By lowering my shade in the morning, I was able to cut my air conditioning usage down to less than 2 hours/day on a hot day. This is how I did it.

I went to the dollar store and purchased a number of those shiny shields that one can put on their car windshield in order to stop their car from heating up. These shields are foam on one side and mylar on the other.
I cut them and fastened them together with shiny duct tape, so that I had a piece the size of my the window. I cut fabric to match my room that was the same size.

I laid the fabric on the foam side and fastened the fabric to the heat shield with double sided tape.

I found instructions for making a Roman Shade on the internet, and made my shade by putting the shiny side toward the glass, and the fabric side facing the room. It was all put together with duct tape and double sided tape.

Each evening when it was starting to cool outside, I would raise the shade and open the window. In the morning I would close the window and lower the shade in order to keep the cool in.

I should add that I went outside, and looked at the window when the shade was lowered, and it looked really tacky. My south facing window looks onto a field and forest, and no-one can see the window so it doesn't bother me, but I plan on making a shade for my west facing window and this one will have muslin over the shiny side.

Comments (19)

Sponsored
Sport Court of Washington, DC
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars20 Reviews
Award-Winning Sport Court Specialist, Serving Virginia for 30+ Years