Anyone using “magic mirror” reflective sheets to keep rooms cooler?

Our condo's living room has almost a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that face east — beautiful views, of course, but as you can imagine, in the summer it's cooking in there by 7 am. I was thinking of trying out some of those magic mirror-style window sheets — reflecting the sun from the outside to ostensibly keep things a little cooler inside, while also not completely obstructing our views. Anyone here used such a product?

(Incidentally I'm not interested in full black-out sheets or the traditional bamboo curtains or whatnot — I don't want to block our view, and since we're pretty high up outdoor curtains would probably get blown away in strong gust of wind.)

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6 comments
  1. I used them when I lived in the US and they kind of helped–at least they kept me from getting suburned indoors–but if your priority is preserving the view, it’s very difficult to get a flawless application with no creases or bubbles. I did only the upper sash of each window because it was unpleasant to look through.

  2. We use some:
    Works okay at reducing a bit sunlight at the cost of a lot of light inside of course.

    In the evening you have to make sure to close curtains because it becomes a one way mirror from the outside.

    Buying a cheap bamboo sheet to put outside is 900% more efficient

  3. Yes, I also have east-facing windows, and I put [these](https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0091GTGDQ) on them last year. They’re still there.

    They do help quite a bit. There is a noticeable difference in how much heat is radiating inwards into my apartment in the mornings. I suspect that they help more than the cheaper tinting film you can also buy. They might even help reflect heat back inwards in the winter.

    They are also very difficult to install well. You may want to look around on something like Kurashi Market to see if you can find a professional to do it, especially if you have many of them to do.

    But they’re about as close to low-E glass as you’re going to get without actually replacing your windows.

  4. I installed these in my bedroom and in addition to blackout curtains they really cut the heat and the sunlight down. My room is not completely dark in the morning but it’s a very noticeable difference and definitely a lot cooler. The privacy during the day is an added bonus. Next time I will 100% hire a professional to install them since it’s extremely difficult to install them without wrinkles. Mine don’t look great but since I usually keep the curtains closed it’s fine.

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