Trombe Wall in September

The Trombe wall is too effective in the hot sunny days of September. The sun is lower in the sky so the overhang is not wide enough to shade the front.

Blinds stapled to overhang
Blinds stapled to overhang
Partial shade from overhang
Partial shade from overhang

Even opening the windows at night and using fans to bring in more cool air only cools this heat sink of a house a few degrees. I’m going to have to find a solution for this problem.

John Avenson a fellow Solar CitiSun in Colorado has installed automated rolling shutters similar to those in Germany. I bet that was an expensive solution but it works! I just needed a temporary solution since there are only a few hot days left. My son was discarding sets of plastic blinds so I used them.

First I took all the narrow blinds and cut off the mechanisms. I used these short vanes to cover the 2’ overhang just to see if they would work for this. I tried using the nail gun to attach them but the nails went right through so I switched to the staple gun. They seem to be a good cover even though 2 ft is not enough in September.

I hung the largest brown set of blinds from the log trim on the largest area, they are not quite long or wide enough but cover a good portion of the wall.

Blinds on the Trombe wall
Blinds on the Trombe wall

Then I ordered black patio door window curtains. But when they arrived I thought I would use them outside. Hanging them from the overhang created shade on the front door and Trombe wall. So I hung another blind from the overhang too. I had a broken shade from our old RV that also provided the needed shade. These shades will not work in high winds though!

Shade curtains and blinds
Shade curtains and blinds

Next year I may try roll up blinds that can be installed in front of the wall panels. All this is temporary and will be removed when it gets cool.

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