Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Mar 07, 2010 10:41 am Not sure if these have been discussed elsewhere, but I just wanted to let you all know how this type of exterior awning performs. Also known as 'Visionweave' the material resembles a closely woven but supple shadecloth type of stuff that is see-through from the inside of the house but not from outside. Here are some pics, unfortunately the one taken from inside was on a dull day so the full effect is not shown: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The two rooms are east facing bedrooms that used to heat rapidly on hot days. We considered different options such as traditional canvas awnings and roller shutters but we chose these ones after seeing them elsewhere in the neighbourhood. We had canvas sunblinds in our old house and they do a good job, but they are heavy, prone to rattle in the wind, fade, crease and fall apart after 10 years. We could not justify the cost of roller shutters and their colour choice is extremely limited. One of the good things about these ones is that because they are see through, they have stayed completely down since day one (fitted just before xmas) so there is no need to lift them up every night on order to see out the window. They also allow a better breeze through if the window is left open too. We will probably lift them in a few weeks time and pull them down again in mid Spring. I haven't conducted any before-and-after temperature measurements or anything like that, but the proof of their effectiveness is on a warm sunny morning when a patch of sunlight shines through them and on to the floor. The sunny patch is now just as cool as the rest of the floor. The heat does not travel through the blinds and the rooms are noticibly cooler than they were before they were fitted. Of course, on very hot mornings, the windows are left closed and the roman blinds kept down as well, but at other times they do a magnificent job. Installed cost for both windows was around $1k and they are available in a large range of colours. The pelmets match colorbond colours too. Geoff - Decophile. Re: See-through sunblinds 3Mar 13, 2010 4:54 pm Thanks for sharing that Eager! You've certainly given me food for thought regarding my west facing main bedroom. Have you noticed any rattling of the supportive external frames in windy weather? I only ask because I'm in a very wind prone area but I'm desperate for some sort of sun protection! Fence, paving, retaining wall - CHECK! Still so much more to do..... Re: See-through sunblinds 4Mar 13, 2010 8:13 pm Metallised transparent blinds: Verosol Heat reflective PVC blinds: Reflective blinds Eager, I note that your AC compressor facing east is unshaded. It might be working less efficiently because of this. Re: See-through sunblinds 5Mar 14, 2010 8:28 am Bella09 Thanks for sharing that Eager! You've certainly given me food for thought regarding my west facing main bedroom. Have you noticed any rattling of the supportive external frames in windy weather? I only ask because I'm in a very wind prone area but I'm desperate for some sort of sun protection! No, no rattling at all. We get a lot of afternoon Easterly winds here in summer and I haven't heard a peep out of them. Geoff - Decophile. Re: See-through sunblinds 6Mar 14, 2010 8:30 am dymonite69 Eager, I note that your AC compressor facing east is unshaded. It might be working less efficiently because of this. We never considered that! I don't think it is too much of an issue though because even on the hottest days the air-con doesn't get turned on until around midday anyway, by which time the unit is in the shade. Geoff - Decophile. Re: See-through sunblinds 7Mar 16, 2010 3:57 pm Oooh! Excellent! These sound very promising for me then! Eager.....if you don't mind me asking, who did you get the blinds through? Was it Victory Blinds? I've only seen them advertised on their website so far. Fence, paving, retaining wall - CHECK! Still so much more to do..... Re: See-through sunblinds 8Mar 16, 2010 8:42 pm Yes, we got them through Victory Blinds. They have a showroom locally. Geoff - Decophile. yep sounds good make the footing bigger to to allow for the pipe in the middle 3 7389 Hi When it rains in a particular direction water comes through the security door. It hits the main door and the bottom swells and jams. There is already a cover over the… 0 38535 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Are you doing this with a building permit? Conversion of a non habitable room into a habitable room requires building permit. 3 17450 |