After moving some furniture recently, we noticed that the carpet in the living room had been bleached significantly by the sun. Compared to the carpet hidden by the sideboard, the carpet in front of the patio doors was several shades lighter. So much so that the carpet looked a completely different colour.
Upon closer inspection we could also see that there had also been some significant bleaching damage to the furniture in that part of the room. Dining chairs that were close to the window were significantly lighter on the side facing the windows to those further away.
A complete replacement of the living room carpet, dining table and chairs and sideboard is a considerable expense, so we started looking into ways in which we could reduce the damage caused by the sun.
Keeping the curtains shut though the morning when direct sunlight floods into the living room seemed self defeating, who wants to live in perpetual gloom! Net curtains or a fine gossamer ‘day curtains’ were also an option, but would also prevent us seeing out properly, and we do like to watch the birds in the garden.
We searched online for possible solutions. Replacing the patio doors for new ones with special glass that offered UV & heat protection was an option but the cost was prohibitive.
Eventually we came across a better solution for our circumstances. We could have new window film applied to our existing patio doors that would offer UV and heat protection. It is possible to apply this window film yourself, but from past experience we decided to get some professionals to do the job!
We googled “domestic window film installers near me”. We sent email enquiries to all the providers on the first page of google and awaited their response.
The first to reply to us was Cool View Window Films (https://cool-view.co.uk/) based in Binley Woods near Coventry. Rob from Cool View phoned us to ask a few more questions about what we wanted to achieve with our window film. After the initial discussion and providing the measurements Cool View quoted us £120 to fit Climate 50 Medium Window Film to both our patio doors. This turned out to be the best quotation out of all the subsequent providers quotes.
Rob was able to fit the film within the week. It took him approximately 30 minutes to fit both windows with film. And after 2 weeks we can say that we are very happy with the results.
There is a slight tint to the patio doors now, but there is a significant reduction in radiant heat coming through the windows (you can feel this on your skin when standing in front of the patio doors compared to the window at the side) and according to the window film literature a 99% reduction in damaging UV rays. The window film also acts as a barrier to heat leaving the house, meaning it should keep the house warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Although the window film will probably take a long time to pay for itself in terms of energy saved heating and cooling the house, it is definitely cheaper than getting upgraded patio doors or replacing all our furniture and carpets every 5 years!
