Yes, aluminum foil can be used over windows to help keep homes cool

[SheltieLover]

https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/verify/weather-verify/aluminum-foil-windows-cool-heat-wave/536-69a28e6f-0cef-4ae4-a730-fb29e42733a6

Emergency management agencies specifically recommend using aluminum foil-covered cardboard that goes between windows and drapes.

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People took to social media to share ways people in homes with no air conditioning or poor air conditioning could fight the heat and stay cool. One method in particular stood out because users claimed it was both cheap and effective: covering windows with aluminum foil to reflect sunlight and the heat back outside.

A TikTok video sharing the method got more than 100,000 likes and several tweets sharing the tactic received thousands of likes and retweets. All of the posts tell people to black out windows with aluminum foil.

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published a June 29 blog post that included the aluminum foil tactic among six ways to combat extreme heat.

More at link.

Heat wave here in TN is brutal. 98-100F forecast for another 10 days, as far as my app projects. With near 100% humidity & a very high dew point every day, it is miserable outdoors.

For anyone interested, there is also attic foil. Various brands available. One friend paid ~$200 for a 1K sq ft. Roll (this friend is not a frugal shopper. I found a 1K sq ft roll for $93.) You staple the foil to roof rafters to reflect heat from roof away from house. The products I looked at have very good reviews & friend who installed it said it kept his upstairs a few degrees cooler.

Stay cool!

Xposted to Frugal Living group.

[wcmagumba]

1. Several years ago I had an uninsulated 10x16 wood shed I used as a workshop...

Not in shade and got extremely hot in summer...plywood roof with shingles, I bought a smaller roll of aluminum bubble wrap stuff (maybe used for attics)...stapled it to inside roof studs and it was like the shed was completely shaded, I could tolerate working in there on most days with this....the only thing I remember reading as a negative was the redirected heat back through the roof and shingles might lead to some damage or replacement of shingles..never happed while I lived there but now sold and moved on...worked for me...

[KentuckyWoman]

11. That stuff is magic.

We put it between studs in a garage. Temp dropped 10 degrees instant. That stuff is of the "just take my money" variety.

[Disaffected]

15. That is effective alright.

To add to that, put in some gable vents (if you have a gable roof), one at each end to help exhaust the hot air that will build up. Such will not only serve to further cool the interior but will also keep down the shingle temperature. A ridge & soffit vent system will serve for non-gable roofs.

Further, it will serve to prevent condensation attic condensation in winter if the shed is heated.

[wcmagumba]

19. Yeah that shed had vents on gables each end so I left those open...

worked well in summer and I did have a small heater for winter and it helped with that too...don't live there now, retired in senior apt...not as much fun but not as many worries either as owning a place..(well, different worries)...

[Imallin4Joe]

2. "COOL" idea..

I just made that pun up all by myself!!!



rec

[AllaN01Bear]

3. when i lived in southern california as a small boy, we used thermal drapes to control solar gain

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Thermal-Insulated-100-Blackout-Curtains-Bedroom-Black-Liner-Double-Layer-Full-Room-Darkening-Noise-Reducing-Rod-Pocket-Curtain-52-x-95-Inch-Light-Gre/519974209

[Trailrider1951]

4. Great idea, but some HOA's and apartment complexes forbid such measures

I used to live in Houston, and it cost too much to have the AC set below 80* F, so on hot afternoons I would put on a thin t shirt over my swim suit and hose myself down. Then I would sit in the shade where I could catch a breeze and sip something cold. At bedtime, a fan and a damp microfiber cloth helps to keep the heat away. All you under this heat wave have my sympathies.

[Skittles]

6. yes

heavy-duty blackout curtains work well and look better

[Silent3]

5. Keeps out the mind control rays too

[Wicked Blue]

7. Keeps my brain cool

[maxsolomon]

8. On the exterior would be more effective.

Reflect it before it gets to the glass.

Sorry, everybody - it's only getting worse.

[doublethink]

14. I got lucky last year, silver tarps on one side blue on the other ...

6 ft. x 4 ft. ... 99cents each at the 99 cent store here in Fontana CA. 2 of them lasted all 3 to 4 months of summer. Yep they kept the sliding glass windows down in that room (theater) way cooler in the afternoon last year. I picked up 12 tarps so I got 10 left ... Anyway got room darkening drapes down here against the glass and a ceiling fan. It gets well over 105 here often in the summertime outside. High last year about 112, two years ago 116 ... and way back on my RC Track (all dirt) 120 ... arrrrg ... gotta do what we gotta do. Peace.



PS: we took a projector out there last year and showed movies on the tarps a few times too at night ha ...

[Disaffected]

16. We don't get a lot of v hot weather here but,

last year we had a "heat dome" for several weeks over us and I did the same - silver tarps over all sun exposed windows & doors. Made a significant difference especially when the windows were closed because of forest fire smoke.

[maxsolomon]

25. Too bad that tree's gone.

They help quite a bit.

My BIL down in Napa uses similar methods to protect all the west-facing windows in his house.

[doublethink]

26. Yeah that tree was already gone when I bought the house ...

bummer for sure.

[rownesheck]

9. I can't bring myself to do it.

Every morning, I open the blinds on our living room window, the blinds on the bay window in the dining room and the blinds on the window in our front room. It allows so much sunshine to come in that I don't turn on any lights for most of the day.

I suppose if it got hot enough I'd suck it up and do it, but I'd be sad.

[Hugin]

13. My SO is of the same mood.

Every morning up and everything open. Which is great, except for a couple of months during the summer.

I've finally reached a compromise.

I don't know how your house is laid out, but all of our windows are either on the eastern or western sides of the house. Most of the trouble with heat comes in the afternoon from the western windows. During the summer we shutter the western windows as the sun moves over to that side of the house. Between noon and 1:00 pm.

It really does make a significant difference. In not only the temperature also in the energy bills.

The article mentions using aluminum covered cardboard sheets. We could put those up around noon as well and store them below the windows until needed or maybe I could make some temporary or seasonal awnings.

[KentuckyWoman]

10. Emergency milar blankets

Cheaper and reusable. Fabric stores sell thermal cell fabric usable winter or summer.

[Lars39]

12. I recently learned about pelmets...

https://www.instructables.com/How-to-save-heat-money-and-energy-with-easy-pelm/

[nolabear]

17. We did that when I was a kid. Ugly but effective.

[Disaffected]

18. Make sure you

place the "shiny" side facing out for best effect.

[Martin68]

20. True. Reflective surfaces are excellent insulators against heat and cold. Ever noticed the numerous

reflective surfaces astronauts wear when they venture into space?

[pansypoo53219]

21. been using shades. house cool from yesterday except upstairs. 70's, but its climbing to 80.

i wear weave over knit + getting wet helps a lot. too many windows for foil AND we have some huge ones.

[Tree Lady]

22. Let summer we had heat waves of over 100 for days

and even a week. I put foil on just my top arch that had no curtains and bought these thick black out curtains to put under blinds and regular curtains. I found them on Amazon they use suction cups so you can use on any window and take off when its not as hot. Got me through the summer. My air conditioner is old and couldn't keep up with the heat and didn't go down very far, this helped to go further.

[crickets]

23. K&R for the post and the discussion.

[Duppers]

24. I've covered windows in foil before

...before the trees on the SW side of our home grew enough to totally shade the windows. Love trees.

I have wooden shutters on the lower half of the windows too. But this foil trick really works.

Thanks, SL.