Aussie made Solar Screens - keeping the tug cooler
denmonkey said
09:12 PM Dec 3, 2018
Hey all,
I know some enjoy the sharing of products reviews and stuff that we find handy.
I thought I'd share my look at some solar screens that I have for my tug that I've had for sometime now.
I'd even go as far as saying these can't even cause any controversy like some of my past reviews
But I won't say never .
The screens themselves I picked up second hand off gumtree from the same guy I got the water tank and diesel bladder off that I also did the reviews on.
According to the website, solarscreen.com.au they can be had from various dealers around Aus or ordered direct from their site.
I was going to make my own set from reflectix as per other utube videos but when these came up for the 80bucks I jumped on them. On pricing the materials, I found it was more expensive than I thought.
Seems the US gets that stuff much cheaper than us.
If you know of a good price let me know, I'd like to make some up for the Van and shed later on.
Quality of these is far better than anything I could have made. Plus they come with a bag to store them in. Anything I made would have just been stuffed into the shed with everything else.
There's something like 7 layers to these things with the outside with a reflective foil material, the inside a padded pvc and a bunch of other stuff sandwiched in between.
Fitment is done as you would expect, via suction caps dotted around the outside and I gotta say, these are some of the best ones I've encountered on a product.
It also came with some spares also. (nice touch)
Since these aren't your generic screens, they are custom cut to fit to your vehicle and they fit very well.
In addition to blocking visable, IR and UV light, to keep it cool in summer and warmer in winter, the also do a good job stopping anyone taking a peak over the back of the Paj when parked up.
Since I tend to have it loaded up with various bits and bobs, this is an added bonus that I like very much.
They also look nifty from the outside.
Temp wise, I'd say they give around a 10degree reduction in the heat if not more.
Since I run a fridge over the back 24/7 via a dcdc and solar, it helps the fridge run that bit cooler and obviously reduces the load on the battery a bit too.
Not that I've had any issues with the fridge in the hot car but every bit helps.
Getting back in the vehicle after sitting in the sun is also less offensive and running the air con for a minute or so brings it down to temp much quicker.
Whilst I have the rear camera over the back, I'm not a fan of driving with these on as I can't see out the rear or the passenger rear to check for vehicles.
With that in mind the back row stays on permanent but the others come on and off as required.
I think I'm going to pick up the rest of the set for even better effect, but I don't know a price on those yet.
Quality wise these are excellent and the stitching and materials are top notch.
After working on the caravan where nothing is of a quality that should be expected, these are a nice change.
Of course supporting an Aussie retailer is nice too, albeit that I got mine second hand.
All up, I'm a big fan of these and if they got damaged or lost, I'd grab another set even at the 300 odd price.
No affiliation with solarscreen and have not dealt with them, so I can't advise on customer service or follow up.
As always the video review.
cheers Brett
-- Edited by denmonkey on Monday 3rd of December 2018 09:12:54 PM
Usual disclaimer, not associated with anyone selling anything
The wife brought a set of these type of screens, for the cab of the motorhome, I had no idea you could also get them for the vehicle rear side windows
As already been said, very expensive at nearly $400, (windscreen and two cab door windows), from Queensland (I think), and made to suit for your vehicle
There is no comparison between these sun screens, and the el cheapo ones from, the likes of Supercheap, and other automotive shops
They are (from memory) made from 14 layers of whatever they make them from
On the hottest day, with the sun on the cab windows, you can touch them inside the motorhome, and feel the difference in temperature
I gladly recommend them, as the wife says that they work
denmonkey said
10:11 AM Dec 4, 2018
hey Tony,
glad I'm not the only one who's impressed with them.
I'm not sure where they're located.
I still stick the elcheapo up front on the windscreen but am considering the rest of the set of these.
Like you said, no comparison there . But for the 8 bucks or what ever I paid for those ones will keep me going in the mean time.
Do you do anything for the windows over the back or does the usual curtain or blinds do a good enough job?
Is your cab separate to the rear ?
cheers Brett
Whenarewethere said
12:18 PM Dec 4, 2018
I have cut up some windscreen sunscreens and they work reasonably well, & we want to keep volume of things to a minimum. The car itself is well insulated, but the windows are where the heat loss is at night, 6 watts per degree difference per square metre heat loss through single glazing. We also stick the panels in the widows during the day if that side of the car is facing the sun, while not driving!
In the home we have piled in Aircell (building bubble wrap) (unfortunately no rebates from the government) works well. The Aircell works brilliantly retrofitting under roof tiles without lifting a single roof tile, but hard work to say the least (you may need two templates due to spacings (cut with scissors)), but the foil coating comes off for day to day use in the car or caravan so is not suitable to cover windows in this situation. Where as the car windshield sunscreens although thin do last (one could double them up), but I do use the better quality ones, still cheap enough though to allow for a few stuff ups! I have used some of the Aircell around the fridge & it works well.
does the usual curtain or blinds do a good enough job? Is your cab separate to the rear ?
cheers Brett
Insulation is about creating pockets of air. Silver of white facing radiant heat. So a cheap sunscreen will be the trick. Then a few layers or curtains to create pockets of air.
We have west windows in the home & on extreme summer days we Velcro up some additional old white sheets, 3 layers & the reduction of heat entering the rooms is amazing. That 46 degree day in Sydney years ago was the ultimate test & the above worked a treat for little expense. We missed out on our view for a few hours but the benefit of some old rags was priceless!
JayDee said
05:39 PM Dec 4, 2018
I am more interested in cooling the van whilst we are bush camping.
Our A/c sounds like a jumbo jet. We have 3 ceiling vans and one wall fan, but still not enough to abate our summer heat.
Still waiting for a diesel cool air Cond. to come on the market.
Jay&Dee
denmonkey said
08:17 PM Dec 4, 2018
wow When, that looks like a lot of work in that ceiling space :) glad it was you and not me
All good on the 'pockets' thing. In my research lots of people promoted having an 'air gap' between the insulation and the window to provide better results.
That would have been one of the challenges to beat if I ended up making my own.
Whilst I do like a DIY challenge, I'm not going to sook about not having to take on this one.
I might consider doing something like that at my place. My bedroom is at the rear of the house with a massive tripple window facing west.
It's great when a storm rolls through or to warm up the room in winter but on hot summer days it's a killer with the AC at the front of the house.
Drawing the blinds and curtains only makes a small improvement and once its warmed up over the day, there's no winning that fight.
Thanks for the tip. Being so focused on the car, i didnt think of the house.
Right there with ya JD. I've got a couple of 12v fans but theyre a bit heavy on the juice . I need to look at other options.
I do have a portable AC unit and a gennie that I'm trying to figure out at the moment.
current tests, show that I really need to insulate the exhuast hose and make a good seal where it exits the window.
At this stage those 2 items tend to put out more heat than what it can cool and the temp goes in the wrong direction.
When time permits, I'm going to get stuck into that one.
cheers Brett
Whenarewethere said
08:17 PM Dec 4, 2018
How many kW per square metres of surface area do you need at the height of summer. Let's say as a starting point 0.100 kW.
denmonkey said
11:42 AM Dec 5, 2018
Whenarewethere wrote:
How many kW per square metres of surface area do you need at the height of summer. Let's say as a starting point 0.100 kW.
Good question and I have literally no idea.
My approach is more of the suck it and see variety
Whenarewethere said
01:50 PM Dec 6, 2018
denmonkey wrote:
Whenarewethere wrote:
How many kW per square metres of surface area do you need at the height of summer. Let's say as a starting point 0.100 kW.
Good question and I have literally no idea.
My approach is more of the suck it and see variety
This coolroom calculator has quite a few setting to adjust. http://www.intarcon.com/calculadora/calc_en.html
Tony Bev said
10:49 PM Dec 10, 2018
denmonkey wrote:
hey Tony,
glad I'm not the only one who's impressed with them.
I'm not sure where they're located.
I still stick the elcheapo up front on the windscreen but am considering the rest of the set of these. Like you said, no comparison there . But for the 8 bucks or what ever I paid for those ones will keep me going in the mean time.
Do you do anything for the windows over the back or does the usual curtain or blinds do a good enough job? Is your cab separate to the rear ?
cheers Brett
Sorry about late getting back, Brett
The back side and rear windows are slightly tinted, as per my Avatar, and I have curtains
Just had a squzzie, and find that there is are fly screens, on the back side and rear windows, so I would have no way of easily fitting and removing shades on those windows
denmonkey said
02:36 PM Dec 13, 2018
All good Tony. cheers for the reply
msg said
03:41 PM Dec 13, 2018
Have a look at CarravannersPlus. I bought a set for my motorhome. $146.00 whilst they are not custom fitted, you can get them to fit a range of vehicles. The fit is probably not as good as custom measured but close enough. Service is good too.
Hey all,
I know some enjoy the sharing of products reviews and stuff that we find handy.
I thought I'd share my look at some solar screens that I have for my tug that I've had for sometime now.
I'd even go as far as saying these can't even cause any controversy like some of my past reviews
But I won't say never .
The screens themselves I picked up second hand off gumtree from the same guy I got the water tank and diesel bladder off that I also did the reviews on.
According to the website, solarscreen.com.au they can be had from various dealers around Aus or ordered direct from their site.
I was going to make my own set from reflectix as per other utube videos but when these came up for the 80bucks I jumped on them. On pricing the materials, I found it was more expensive than I thought.
Seems the US gets that stuff much cheaper than us.
If you know of a good price let me know, I'd like to make some up for the Van and shed later on.
Quality of these is far better than anything I could have made. Plus they come with a bag to store them in. Anything I made would have just been stuffed into the shed with everything else.
There's something like 7 layers to these things with the outside with a reflective foil material, the inside a padded pvc and a bunch of other stuff sandwiched in between.
Fitment is done as you would expect, via suction caps dotted around the outside and I gotta say, these are some of the best ones I've encountered on a product.
It also came with some spares also. (nice touch)
Since these aren't your generic screens, they are custom cut to fit to your vehicle and they fit very well.
In addition to blocking visable, IR and UV light, to keep it cool in summer and warmer in winter, the also do a good job stopping anyone taking a peak over the back of the Paj when parked up.
Since I tend to have it loaded up with various bits and bobs, this is an added bonus that I like very much.
They also look nifty from the outside.
Temp wise, I'd say they give around a 10degree reduction in the heat if not more.
Since I run a fridge over the back 24/7 via a dcdc and solar, it helps the fridge run that bit cooler and obviously reduces the load on the battery a bit too.
Not that I've had any issues with the fridge in the hot car but every bit helps.
Getting back in the vehicle after sitting in the sun is also less offensive and running the air con for a minute or so brings it down to temp much quicker.
Whilst I have the rear camera over the back, I'm not a fan of driving with these on as I can't see out the rear or the passenger rear to check for vehicles.
With that in mind the back row stays on permanent but the others come on and off as required.
I think I'm going to pick up the rest of the set for even better effect, but I don't know a price on those yet.
Quality wise these are excellent and the stitching and materials are top notch.
After working on the caravan where nothing is of a quality that should be expected, these are a nice change.
Of course supporting an Aussie retailer is nice too, albeit that I got mine second hand.
All up, I'm a big fan of these and if they got damaged or lost, I'd grab another set even at the 300 odd price.
No affiliation with solarscreen and have not dealt with them, so I can't advise on customer service or follow up.
As always the video review.
cheers Brett
-- Edited by denmonkey on Monday 3rd of December 2018 09:12:54 PM
Usual disclaimer, not associated with anyone selling anything
The wife brought a set of these type of screens, for the cab of the motorhome, I had no idea you could also get them for the vehicle rear side windows
As already been said, very expensive at nearly $400, (windscreen and two cab door windows), from Queensland (I think), and made to suit for your vehicle
There is no comparison between these sun screens, and the el cheapo ones from, the likes of Supercheap, and other automotive shops
They are (from memory) made from 14 layers of whatever they make them from
On the hottest day, with the sun on the cab windows, you can touch them inside the motorhome, and feel the difference in temperature
I gladly recommend them, as the wife says that they work
glad I'm not the only one who's impressed with them.
I'm not sure where they're located.
I still stick the elcheapo up front on the windscreen but am considering the rest of the set of these.
Like you said, no comparison there . But for the 8 bucks or what ever I paid for those ones will keep me going in the mean time.
Do you do anything for the windows over the back or does the usual curtain or blinds do a good enough job?
Is your cab separate to the rear ?
cheers Brett
I have cut up some windscreen sunscreens and they work reasonably well, & we want to keep volume of things to a minimum. The car itself is well insulated, but the windows are where the heat loss is at night, 6 watts per degree difference per square metre heat loss through single glazing. We also stick the panels in the widows during the day if that side of the car is facing the sun, while not driving!
In the home we have piled in Aircell (building bubble wrap) (unfortunately no rebates from the government) works well. The Aircell works brilliantly retrofitting under roof tiles without lifting a single roof tile, but hard work to say the least (you may need two templates due to spacings (cut with scissors)), but the foil coating comes off for day to day use in the car or caravan so is not suitable to cover windows in this situation. Where as the car windshield sunscreens although thin do last (one could double them up), but I do use the better quality ones, still cheap enough though to allow for a few stuff ups! I have used some of the Aircell around the fridge & it works well.
Insulation is about creating pockets of air. Silver of white facing radiant heat. So a cheap sunscreen will be the trick. Then a few layers or curtains to create pockets of air.
We have west windows in the home & on extreme summer days we Velcro up some additional old white sheets, 3 layers & the reduction of heat entering the rooms is amazing. That 46 degree day in Sydney years ago was the ultimate test & the above worked a treat for little expense. We missed out on our view for a few hours but the benefit of some old rags was priceless!
I am more interested in cooling the van whilst we are bush camping.
Our A/c sounds like a jumbo jet. We have 3 ceiling vans and one wall fan, but still not enough to abate our summer heat.
Still waiting for a diesel cool air Cond. to come on the market.
Jay&Dee
All good on the 'pockets' thing. In my research lots of people promoted having an 'air gap' between the insulation and the window to provide better results.
That would have been one of the challenges to beat if I ended up making my own.
Whilst I do like a DIY challenge, I'm not going to sook about not having to take on this one.
I might consider doing something like that at my place. My bedroom is at the rear of the house with a massive tripple window facing west.
It's great when a storm rolls through or to warm up the room in winter but on hot summer days it's a killer with the AC at the front of the house.
Drawing the blinds and curtains only makes a small improvement and once its warmed up over the day, there's no winning that fight.
Thanks for the tip. Being so focused on the car, i didnt think of the house.
Right there with ya JD. I've got a couple of 12v fans but theyre a bit heavy on the juice . I need to look at other options.
I do have a portable AC unit and a gennie that I'm trying to figure out at the moment.
current tests, show that I really need to insulate the exhuast hose and make a good seal where it exits the window.
At this stage those 2 items tend to put out more heat than what it can cool and the temp goes in the wrong direction.
When time permits, I'm going to get stuck into that one.
cheers Brett
How many kW per square metres of surface area do you need at the height of summer. Let's say as a starting point 0.100 kW.
Good question and I have literally no idea.
My approach is more of the suck it and see variety
This coolroom calculator has quite a few setting to adjust. http://www.intarcon.com/calculadora/calc_en.html
Sorry about late getting back, Brett
The back side and rear windows are slightly tinted, as per my Avatar, and I have curtains
Just had a squzzie, and find that there is are fly screens, on the back side and rear windows, so I would have no way of easily fitting and removing shades on those windows