Block heat from my window?

Question

Ok so the central AC in the house wont rech to my room (weve cleand the vents and everything but still doesnt work and dont have money for repairs) so it gets REALLY hot in my room in the summer (I can deal with the REALLY cold though, all i need is a hoodie and extra blankets...plus I prefer cold) so I have this heavy black shower curtain folded and tacked to the window, but it still gets SO hot I somtimes have to sleep in the living room, and the the heat literally has the curtain poofing out from the window (like the center i had all the sides tacked to the wall) and You can FEEL the heat coming off the curtain if you put your hand a few inches away from it. So yesterday My mom finally bought me an AC for my window and now its in and working and dramatically changed my normal room temperature, but today (few minutes ago actually) I noticed that its still really warm in here despite the AC (not near as bad though) So what else can i do to block the heat b/c its still could be better.

Answer 1

First, get rid of the black curtain.  Black absorbs solar heat, truthfully, any dark color.  Put up white or a very light color instead.  That will reflect the heat back out.  

You can buy an insulated pull shade or use automotive window tint on the window to help too. Another idea is to cover some foam board with foil and stick that in the window.  And keep your bedroom door closed since you now have a window a/c unit.  Good Luck!

Answer 2

you didn't say where the room was located...I am gonna guess the peak of the house.      So the roof is the walls basically.   Insulation makes the difference.   Not only does it work to keep heat in, it keeps cold in.   Stick the blue styrofoam on the walls, even a half inch will improve the situation.

Answer 3

Aluminum foil has worked great for me in the past.  As you know i too get EXTREMELY hot room temperatures, it's like the devil is trying to invade through the window.

My other suggestion would be to look into turning the AC controls up so that it makes it hotter, and also try putting a fan into the room to blow the Cold Air from the AC around the room and see if that helps at all.

I think the black shower curtain would only bring the heat towards it which might be why you feel it it is so hot so i really don't think the shower curtain is the way to go.  Definitely try the aluminum foil and fan option.

Answer 4

The black shower curtain is working to absorb the sun through the window, not helping to cool anything off. Black absorbs the suns heat, white will reflect it.  If the window is getting alot of mid day and late afternoon sun that is what is causing the heat problem in the room. Try some window film that will reflect the heat on the rest of the window and consider buying some insulated curtains, window shade or cellular shades.

Answer 5

There are things out there called black out shades and reflective shades that seem to do the trick there is also stuff out there called solar screen that you can replace your old screen with and it is suppose to cut down on the heat. If you can I would suggest planting a tree out side on that side of the building you live in and that will be a natural way to block sun coming in to your room. you could also do the foil like previously advised and it would be the cheapest rout. But it seems to me that you have had this problem for a while and the best for your bills and for the future would be to plant a tree of some king that will give some shade.

Answer 6

You could get a roll of wall insulation from home depot and put it around the ac and window and then cover it with some heavy plastic. Before you put that up put some aluminum foil on the window shiny side out to help reflect the heat from the window.

Answer 7

put foil on your window