What Is the Effect of Various Window Coverings on the Temperature of the Enclosed Area?

CSEF · 2006 Physics & Astronomy

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of my project is to discover which of the most commonly used window coverings keeps heat out of a house the best. I believe that a reflective window covering will suceed in keeping out the heat. Methods/Materials I used a dual pane window fitted in a frame of plywood. I then insulated the frame with fiberglass insulation and dry walled the inside. I also covered the outside with T111 wood covering. I tested each of the different coverings: mini blinds, window shade, aluminum foil, reflective and non-reflective window films, and tested with no covering for a control. I used two 250-watt heat lamps mounted on a stand to stimulate the sun. I tested each covering three times. Results I found out that the aluminum foil did the best at keeping the heat out, although reflective window film consistently was second best at keeping the interior cooler. Conclusions/Discussion I concluded that if you can just reflect the light away from your house, the interior of your home would stay cooler.

Summary statement

The object of my project was to figure out which window covering would keep the most heat out of a house.

Help received

My father helped my build the house.

Competition history

  • CSEF 2006 Physics & Astronomy · Entry J1526

Resources

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

Source: California Science & Engineering Fair public projects

Save projects to your library

Sign in with Google to keep track of projects you find interesting, organized into folders. An account also raises your daily allowance for “Has this been done?”, and lets you create a key for the MCP server with a much higher limit than anonymous use. Browsing stays public.

Continue with Google