Tinting House Windows (Chiang Mai)

[CrossBones]

I live in CM

My apartment gets really hot as it faces the sun in afternoon and aircon struggling to keep it cool

Im just wondering if there is some kind of tinting service available, to take out some of the heat from the sun without making the room too dark.

Thanks

[BB1955]

I saw another post about this . They say there is a shop on the road just past Siam TV that sells the tint . You can also buy it at home pro but its very expensive . I am going to try to get over there and see what they have as well ... Thats

Edited March 22, 2013 by BB1955

[aussiebebe]

call Lamina (or other company) they'll send a salesman to your house who will measure your windows and then email you a quote for window film. They'll leave you a booklet with different samples so you can choose - the most popular film for homes (XAP60GNSRPS) is the most expensive; it allows a high percentage of visible light while rejecting a fair amount of solar heat.

A caution about film is that if you go too dark it can be depressing; it only comes with a 7-year warranty and it's impossible to choose a film that's great all day long (ie. when the sun isn't on the window ideally you'd want clear glass). A further point is to consider the window frame material; if it's aluminium-framed then a lot of heat will come through that way and film isn't going to help. You could therefore consider silver curtain backing or blinds. It's difficult.

[HeijoshinCool]

Go with blinds. Seeing out at night time, through tint, is a drag.

Or you can do like I suspect some posters here do, put aluminum foil on the windows.

[Stradavarius37]

Go with blinds. Seeing out at night time, through tint, is a drag.

Or you can do like I suspect some posters here do, put aluminum foil on the windows.

If they did that, what would they make their hats out of?

[Rasseru]

A month ago I had 3M heat-reflecting film put on all of our windows. It blocks out 70 percent of the infra-red and ultra-violet light, and has made a world of difference to how hot the place gets. It is barely noticeable in terms of the appearance of the outside world through the glass. Having heard horror stories about window film being badly applied, I contacted directly 3M in Bangkok. They asked me to measure all my windows for them, which I did, based on which they gave me a quotation. It was expensive, but I accepted it. They sent two professional installers from Bangkok, from a subcontractor there that 3M has trained and uses for this purpose. They spent one day at it and did an excellent job. I could not be happier.

[Rasseru]

Be careful when selecting a film to use. How effective a film is at reflecting or blocking heat from sunlight is not related, directly at least, to how darkly tinted the film is. At any rate, some films are very good at reflecting or blocking heat, without being darkly tinted.

[FunFon]

Better IMO to install one of those overhanging shade awning thingies, they're not expensive here even custom-made, and let's you keep your view intact.

[Rasseru]

Better IMO to install one of those overhanging shade awning thingies, they're not expensive here even custom-made, and let's you keep your view intact.

Nice, yes, but one difficulty with them is that they are between hard and impossible to install in the case of many apartments.

[eyecatcher]

I saw another post about this . They say there is a shop on the road just past Siam TV that sells the tint . You can also buy it at home pro but its very expensive . I am going to try to get over there and see what they have as well ... Thats

yes see my post on "bamboo blinds" earlier this week.

[FolkGuitar]

Personally, I like the Mylar that is used to make emergency Survival Blankets. If you can find the cheapest of the cheap, it's bright silver on one side, and a brass color on the other. When hung on a window with the silver side out, you can see easily through the brass colored side so plenty of light still gets through but the heat is cut significantly. And as we only needed it up for 3-5 hours out of the day, a few Velcro tabs on the Mylar and matching ones around the window made put it up or down a 30-second affair. You DO have to replace them once or twice a year though... and for the $3 that they cost for enough to cover 2-3 windows, it may be a problem for some.