For those of you who look through my history, you will see that at the beginning of this winter, I posted a question about my son's room being too cold. People recommended a WONDERFUL Baby-in-a-bag product that I have been using since and love, as well as getting a space-heater with a thermostat on it so that it kicks in when his room gets too cold. These two things worked wonderfully, and we were able to get through the winter using them.
Unfortunately, we're now experiencing the reverse problem as temperatures hit the mid-80s this weekend. His room faces South-East and gets extremely hot in the early afternoons (right about nap time!). Because of the angle of the house and the trees in our backyard, it is the ONLY room on the second floor that gets direct sunlight in the afternoons. My son's room has a ceiling fan and a small purchased fan that we run, and we have even turned the air on lower than usual to try to cool his room, but of course, the living room (where the thermostat is located) faces North-West and is shadowed by trees, and it takes a lot more to make that room hot. He has cheap metal blinds to block out the light, but they don't do enough.
My question is - first, has anyone used that light-reflective film that you put over windows or specific types of blinds that help insulate the room from the window? We are going to go to Home Depot to see what they have today or tomorrow, but I hate to buy something blindly without knowing if it will really help. We do not have the money to replace the window at this point, and we aren't sure it would solve the problem, in any case. Secondly, does anyone have any additional suggestions about how to cool his room?
Thank you to everyone for your advice. We went to Home Depot where we were able to get some inexpensive but thick wooden blinds, and I have ordered some thermal curtains from amazon.com that will arrive soon. I already see great improvement in the room, but if this does not do the trick, then I plan to buy the film to put over the windows. Thanks again to everyone's suggestions.
Try getting a dark colored cutain for his room it will help block out the sun more, and try opening the windows up if they are where he can not reach them.
Hello,
I am a construction manager and I do have a good amount of experience "fixing" situations where a mechanical engineer didn't do their job correctly!
My suggestions are:
1) Get a Solis or Huper-Optik film for the window. If it's a small window, just have a window tinting company come out and do it. You will have a better result than if you do it yourself. Both Solis and Huper-Optik make films that are almost clear, yet will reduce solar heat gain by 80%+. If you can't afford Solis/Huper films, look for something that will specifically reduce solar heat gain. The packaging will tell you.
2) Do you have forced air heating/air conditioning? If you do, call an HVAC company to come out and install baffles in the ducts. You may already have them, and perhaps they just need to be adjusted. Baffles will allow you to close off or open up ducts in your home so you can "force" more air into your son's room and less to other parts of the house. Obviously this only helps if the air conditioning is on.
3) Is your house insulated? If not, call an insulation company and see if you can get your son's room insulated (attic as well, if you have one). Even if you have a stucco home, there are products available where they drill a small hole into the stucco, spray in a foam, and then patch the stucco so there is minimal damage to the surface.
4) Make sure the vents in your attic aren't blocked. This would keep the air in the attic from circulating, which would trap hot (or cold) air in the attic, making the overall temperature in your home worse. If your attic has spray-in insulation, it may have gotten into the vents (along the edge of the attic floor/rafters).
I hope this helps! Good luck!
Try a black out shade. Old school but it does the trick and will keep him cool :)
We have a similar problem in the summer. I just sewed some heavy curtains myself and put them up over the blinds. In the summer the keep out the heat and in the winter they keep them in...
I agree, a blackout shade would be best/cheapest way to go.
We had almost the exact same problem and we purchased navy blue thermal curtains from Bed Bath and Beyond and they worked wonders. It's a cheap easy quick fix.
Yes Yes Yes get a blackout shade or thermal curtains. A lot cheaper than replacing a window, but above average price than regular curtains. We just purcahsed some for our room (sun shines directly in) and it's amazing what a difference it has made. I've been told, but haven't tried it yet, to mix ice and water in our humidifier to bring down the temperature in the room.
Good Luck!!!
To me, it sounds like more of an issue with the ducts in the house and how the air is routed. You may need to close some of the other vents in areas of the house that aren't used as much and try to redirect the air (both cold and hot) into his room.
Have you adjusted the ceiling fan to pull the hot air up into the room instead of pushing it down as you should in the Winter?
If his room is so very hot, first off you could paint his room a little cooler color like coffee bean or something along that line. Something that isn't going to attract the heat. The reflective film also works very well. Most of us like to open the curtains etc. to let some air in however if you are doing this and then closing for a nap the heat has already had a chance to get through.
Keep the reflective film down at all times but open the bdrm.door so that air can pass through. When the room is darkened like I said even with the darker paint and the blind and fan, you yourself should feel the coolness in his room.
Hope this works for you.
You can try solar screens- they replace the regular window screen and are darker to keep out more sun. Also you can use the roller blinds, miniblinds, and thick curtains all at the same time to add more layers. Or have a window fan blowing out in that room and then open another window on the opposite side of the house to get the air moving through.
I'm sure you've tried this, so I feel a little silly saying it, but have you tried opening the window? It gets extra hot because the glass is magnifying the heat and keeping it trapped in the room. Leaving the window open will probably give him a cool enough breeze to sleep comfortably at least until the temps hit the high 80's. Also, have him sleep in nothing but his diaper if he's too warm. I have found that being too warm doesn't bother most kids the way being too cold does. Good luck.
If you really like sunlight to come in, I think the woman's suggestion about the film for the window was best. But, we don't care much for a lot of direct light, so, I use a lot of window cover.
I use three panels of sound/light blocking drapes for the windows on the south side of the house. But, in the bedroom, where we prefer black/dark to sleep, I have an old comforter that I hang between the blinds and the drapes to keep the heat/cold out. We really just sleep in the bedroom, so it's not a problem. I can pull the drapes back to get a little light in, If I want to get sunlight in, I pin the comforter open by pulling the corners up toward the center and securing it with a safety pin.
I know it sounds awkward, but since I have the blinds against the window and the drapes on the inside, it looks fine and works wonders both for comfort and heating/cooling bills.
i would just let him sleep in a t-shirt. i was concerned about that too the last couple days but this morning he woke up fine and not sweaty. he'll let you know if he's uncomfy. no need for Home Depot. imagine people who DON'T have air. they all survived.
