SerpApi.Org
Have you been melting in your bedroom in this heat? Join the club. The recent heat wave had my bedroom feeling like a sauna. By evening, it was the hottest spot in the flat and in no mood to cool down before bed.
My husband and I tried the usual fixes first. We kept the curtains closed during the hottest part of the day, opened the windows once the air outside felt cooler, and ran the fan on full blast. It helped, but only a little.
Why our bedroom gets so hot
The problem was that our bedroom is west-facing, so it catches the strongest sun in the afternoon and evening. The room seemed to soak up the heat all afternoon and hang onto it long after the sun had gone.
Some nights, the bedroom felt so much hotter than the rest of our flat that I admitted defeat and slept in the living room—a little premature for newlyweds to be sleeping in separate rooms.
Why we tried heat-reflecting window film in our west-facing bedroom
As renters, we needed something that didn't involve drilling or a big investment. Shutters would be lovely, but they're not quick or cheap. We weren't ready to invest in a portable air conditioner either, not after buying a really strong fan recently.
That's what led us to try heat-reflecting window film as an affordable way to keep our bedroom cooler.
We used the Haton Heat Reflective Window Film in silver ($6.98 for a 17.5" x 78.7" roll). It applies to glass using static cling rather than adhesive, so it's easy to install and remove without leaving sticky residue.
In a west-facing bedroom like ours, window film made sense because the glass gets hours of afternoon sun before bedtime. While a fan simply moves warm air around, this helps reduce the amount of sun and heat passing through the glass in the first place.
According to the brand, the film blocks 90 percent of UV rays and 85 percent of infrared rays, while also reducing glare. It creates a daytime one-way mirror effect too, allowing you to see out while making it harder for people to see in. That only works when it’s brighter outside than inside, so you’ll still need to close the curtains at night. The mirrored finish also slightly darkens the room and changes the look of the glass.
The film was easy enough to apply: cut it to size, clean the glass, then smooth it onto the window with water and patience. A few air bubbles snuck through, but once it was up, the window looked tidy enough and the room immediately felt less harsh in the afternoon sun.
One roll covered our bedroom windows, with a bit left over for us to double up where the sun hits hardest.
Did heat-reflecting window film actually keep our bedroom cooler?
Before we added the film, the bedroom was often the slowest room in the flat to lose its heat. Since putting it up, it still gets warm, but it no longer feels quite so stifling when we go to bed in the evening.
One other big difference is the glare. Before, the sun could make the bedroom feel bright, sharp, and uncomfortable in the afternoons. With the film on, especially where we doubled it up, the brightness is much less intense. The room is a little darker now, but I’ll happily take that over cooking in the heat.
It hasn't turned our bedroom into the inside of a fridge, but for $6.98 and a bit of patience, it made our west-facing bedroom feel noticeably easier to live with in the evenings.
