My lanai is all acrylic tinted windows and I need much more shade.
After hurricane Irma went through here in Naples Fl. a friend loaned our son a small generator for us since there is a small through the wall air conditioner small microwave and we could plug in the main refrigerator and it wasn't till than that I Realized that the sun coming in there was so hot that I actually hung up some flat sheets. I don't know what to do as a permanent solution. Can the Acrylic windows be coated much darker, roll up shades, verticals and all three sides need to be done. I sure don't have a lot of money but need something to keep the sun out of their. Thank you in advance for any help or advice.
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We live in Arizona.. so we are totally familiar with trying to keep the heat out.
The best way to help with keeping heat out is to keep the sun OFF the windows them selves... When we bought our current home, the largest number of windows face east, south and west. We spent $600 and had a Screen Company put 'sun screens' on all the windows. It made a MAJOR difference in how hot the rooms got (made a difference in how often the AC runs too)... and it only minimally effects the amount of "light" each room gets.
BUT.. depending on YOUR skill level... you could make them yourselves.
Home Depot and Lowe's carry a screen cloth fabric (usually in the garden/patio dept) that sells either pre-cut lengths or by the foot (fabric is about 60 inches wide) and comes in several colors (the light tan would be MY first choice).
Make a wood frame sized to window(s), staple on the screen cloth and mount on the house. If you still need more "shading" use roller shades, curtains, or blinds (won't keep out heat)...we use the sun screens, blinds, and curtains on our west facing, large,living room windows to stay comfortable in the high summer.
I would put a darker tint on the windows. If you have to, put it up on the most offensive side first, then cover the rest as the budget allows. I hope Naples wasn't too bad off from the hurricane. I lived there in the nineties, and if I could afford it now, that is where I would be living now. I just loved it!
Look up Shade Sails . Then you can use canvas drop cloths if you need them waterproof , look up waterproofing fabric.