Sun blocking window coverings that won't cost a fortune (drapes, ceiling, curtains)
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My new place has 8 plate glass windows high up on the wall. They are approx. 3.5'w x 7'h each and are spaced about 1 foot apart. I need to get window coverings that will do a decent job of blocking the sun before it gets too hot but I also don't want to spend thousands. They start 10 feet up the wall so I need some way to open and close them without a tall ladder also.
I'm considering just getting plain roller shades for now and then curtains later if I can find shades with those loop chains that are long enough.
it makes you wonder why they design houses with windows in the most arkward places to get to.
like anyone really wants to get a ladder out to open and close the blinds.....?????
actually though the roller shades are about the best, you can put the long string with the ring attactched to it, and make the string long enough for you to reach.
I'd talk to a blind retailer--you know a retailer that sells blinds. If you want to, you could take pics of your arrangement. Or you could find a retailer that comes to the house.
You are probably not the only person with a situation like this. Talk to a pro.
My brother has windows like that in his family room. A regular set at standing height, and then another set higher up the wall. He just has plain white mini blinds, with loops that go all the way down so they can be adjusted. This is a room that gets western exposure, and its enough. No drapes.
it makes you wonder why they design houses with windows in the most arkward places to get to.
like anyone really wants to get a ladder out to open and close the blinds.....?????
actually though the roller shades are about the best, you can put the long string with the ring attactched to it, and make the string long enough for you to reach.
Well, in a perfect world where every house was personally designed by an architect, this wouldn't be as big of an issue. People probably wonder how expensive houses get away with having so much glass and probably assume their heating and cooling bills (per ft2) are atrocious compared to more traditional houses.
In reality they aren't(or shouldn't be if designed properly). If the windows are placed facing the right orientations, with the right overhangs, and appropriate glazing (actual viewing fenestration vs daylighting fenestration) you get the benefit of the sun while minimizing the summer heat gain and maximizing the winter heat gain.
However, in most subdivisions and the typical home, architects didn't personally develop each individual home and thus people end up with poor window designs not suited to their actual house and orientation (too few, too many, wrong orientation, no overhang, etc.). Clerestory windows like described in the OP shouldn't really need regularly operated blinds if designed and laid out properly imo. If they are adding significantly to the head load of the house then something was designed improperly or cheap windows were used. If they were placed on the right orientation with appropriate overhangs and proper HVAC design it shouldn't have a huge impact on summer cooling. If the windows are up high, theoretically (depending on the design of the HVAC) the extra heat should stratify and not have a huge effect on the lived-in zone of the house. This is why you see lots of high-end homes with clerestory windows and no blinds on them.
Well, in a perfect world where every house was personally designed by an architect, this wouldn't be as big of an issue. People probably wonder how expensive houses get away with having so much glass and probably assume their heating and cooling bills (per ft2) are atrocious compared to more traditional houses.
In reality they aren't(or shouldn't be if designed properly). If the windows are placed facing the right orientations, with the right overhangs, and appropriate glazing (actual viewing fenestration vs daylighting fenestration) you get the benefit of the sun while minimizing the summer heat gain and maximizing the winter heat gain.
However, in most subdivisions and the typical home, architects didn't personally develop each individual home and thus people end up with poor window designs not suited to their actual house and orientation (too few, too many, wrong orientation, no overhang, etc.). Clerestory windows like described in the OP shouldn't really need regularly operated blinds if designed and laid out properly imo. If they are adding significantly to the head load of the house then something was designed improperly or cheap windows were used. If they were placed on the right orientation with appropriate overhangs and proper HVAC design it shouldn't have a huge impact on summer cooling. If the windows are up high, theoretically (depending on the design of the HVAC) the extra heat should stratify and not have a huge effect on the lived-in zone of the house. This is why you see lots of high-end homes with clerestory windows and no blinds on them.
Thanks for the ideas. Actually it was designed by an architect as his own house. Originally the windows were all opaque but the last owner put new ones in that are clear. It's passive solar so it faces Southwest. The idea of the heat staying near the ceiling would be ok but it also has a loft that I like to use as an office. I haven't lived there during the summer yet so I'm not sure how bad it will be but I really don't like to be hot. I don't have AC but I am at about 6000' so hopefully I'll survive. I'm leaning toward those 95% sun blocking roller shades.
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