Alternative Technology Assn Forums

1. 

   goosewisperer
   Member

   Our house faces north and has two very large glass windows to take advantage of the view in that direction. The problem is that in winter there is really too much light coming in these windows. We have a timber floor and it quickly gets too hot inside during the day, and being timber, doesn't store heat for the cooler nights anyway. It's also just far too bright and glary.

   Instead of building a veranda over the whole thing we're considering having the glass tinted.
   In hindsight it would have been great to have ordered these windows with pre-tinted glass. Unfortunately it would be too expensive to replace the glass now, so that leaves us with the option of getting someone to put window film on it.

   I've had no experience with window film and I'm nervous about doing this however. These windows are really the centre-piece of the home. Will the film affect the clarity of the view? Or will it look just as crystal clear as glass? How long will it last?...does this stuff degrade and become more noticeable over time? I fear that if it doesn't look too great there will be no way to remove it without damaging the original glass...is this the case?

   Posted Thursday 6 Jul 2017 @ 11:03:56 am from IP #
2. 

   Bushwalker
   Member

   Do you shade the glass in summer? How?

   Posted Thursday 6 Jul 2017 @ 12:17:41 pm from IP #
3. 

   scott drew
   Member

   Thinking outside the square. ..

   Can you do something else?

   Would it be possible to make a masonry knee or waist high wall or feature along the edge of the windows? The masonry will act as a heat sink and collect heat in winter. It will shade the wooden floor a little.

   If that doesnt suit, what about a similar thing made with glass filled with water? Make the side furthest away from the window black which will absorb heat into the water and shade the floor. This style could be removable for summer maybe?

   Just offering different ideas.

   Posted Thursday 6 Jul 2017 @ 12:20:22 pm from IP #
4. 

   Morbo
   Member

   think of it like in tinted dar windows, no it does not make it much darker and no, the view does not become blurred. Then again, I just got it tinted to the legal limit, 25 per cent or so. To block UV mainly.

   Posted Thursday 6 Jul 2017 @ 9:26:05 pm from IP #
5. 

   goosewisperer
   Member

   Thanks Scott, I've been racking my brain (and digging through old threads on the subject) of retrofitting some thermal mass, and sadly due to the layout of the house i dont think we can put a wall or anything in that space. Ideally I'd replace the floor with concrete but even a fairly thin concrete floor would require some additional stumps and bearers and would just cost too much money.

   Posted Friday 7 Jul 2017 @ 12:23:28 am from IP #
6. 

   d.darroch
   Member

   As Scott said, water has an extremely high thermal mass. A thin fish tank could be an option, or is there not even enough space for that? Though you don't actually want fish in there, as the sunlight & fish poo promote algae growth. But plants in the tank are fine. Other options are glass containers/bottles filled with water. Can make a nice display with coloured glass. As Scott said, you could remove the water in summer if you live in a hot coastal environment (where thermal mass can be detrimental at night). If you're away from the coast, thermal mass should be beneficial in summer too.

   Just seems like a waste to not take advantage of all that winter sunshine. Unless of course you're so over glazed that adding thermal mass won't be enough to get daytime temperatures down.

   Posted Friday 7 Jul 2017 @ 1:20:50 am from IP #
7. 

   Bushwalker
   Member

   Shade the glass. Use external blinds etc so they can be rolled away on less bright days.

   Do you shade the glass in summer?

   Posted Friday 7 Jul 2017 @ 1:23:32 am from IP #
8. 

   goosewisperer
   Member

   Bushwalker said:
   Shade the glass. Use external blinds etc so they can be rolled away on less bright days.

   Do you shade the glass in summer?

   Sorry Bushwalker, i missed your question earlier

   The house faces directly north, so the summer sun it kept out by the eaves

   Posted Friday 7 Jul 2017 @ 1:25:36 am from IP #
9. 

   goosewisperer
   Member

   I appreciate the alternative suggestions, but does anyone have any advice relating to my questions specifically-

   goosewisperer said:
   Will the film affect the clarity of the view? Or will it look just as crystal clear as glass? How long will it last?...does this stuff degrade and become more noticeable over time? I fear that if it doesn't look too great there will be no way to remove it without damaging the original glass...is this the case?

   Posted Friday 7 Jul 2017 @ 1:29:23 am from IP #
10. 

    AndyG
    Member

    The tint may effect the clarity (depending on the specific film used)
    Will never look as crystal clear as glass.
    Should las longer than tint last on a car ,especially if it is shaded from the summer sun
    Depending on the particular film you use, it may be difficult to remove.

    To add to the above, while the tint will cut down the glare, it won't necessarily cut down on the heat gain of the room, but again , it totally depends on the film used.

    Further to your concrete comment, there are some thinset concrete topping available that go down to 8mm thick that can be laid over a framed floor structure, but they are extremely expensive ($400+ per square metre by the time they are polished, and that doesn't included the labour and materials to lay down a compressed fibre cement base first) and you will gain nothing as far as thermal mass is concerned.
    They are primarily designed to go over old slabs that weren't meant to be polished originally

    Posted Friday 7 Jul 2017 @ 6:13:18 am from IP #
11. 

    goosewisperer
    Member

    Thanks AndyG. We're rethinking the tinting idea. I suspect we might have to take another look at adding a veranda.

    Posted Sunday 9 Jul 2017 @ 4:52:25 am from IP #
12. 

    Vauban
    Member

    @goosewisperer:

    nobody yet is citing U-values or SHGC numbers. I had an energy audit done in 2016 and am implementing the outcomes in ascending order of cost. The audit mentioned Enerlogic window film. I had a salesman here, so I have a specimen of one of the 2 film types. It is an amber colour. That film type has to do with the fact that none of my windows get direct sun so SHGC is not the issue. I do not find the amber colour unpleasant.

    I was quoted about $ 3,500 for my 19.1 sqm glass.

    Posted Sunday 9 Jul 2017 @ 5:53:13 am from IP #

RSS feed for this topic