A Los Angeles homeowner says the sunroom attached to a bedroom in their 106-year-old house has become too expensive to enjoy.
Because the space is lined with single-pane windows, they told the r/CenturyHomes subreddit that it runs hot in the summer and cold in the winter, pushing utility costs higher.
Here's what to know
In a Reddit thread, the original poster said blackout curtains were not enough to stop them from paying "a fortune" for AC and heat.
To manage the temperature, the homeowner even hung another curtain across the bedroom to keep conditioned air nearer the bed.
They wanted advice on two things. First, they were seeking a low-cost, temporary fix that would let the baby use the sunroom area for about a year. They also wanted a more lasting solution that might preserve the room itself.
Lack of sleep added to the urgency of the request. The OP said the baby "sleeps six inches from my bed and both of us are waking each other up," and they wanted the sunroom to serve as a stopgap solution until the baby could move into his sister's room.
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Across the replies, the advice generally centered on two priorities: stopping heat from building up at the windows and sealing any places where air is leaking through.
"Exterior awnings would keep solar gain off the windows as a summer solution," a commenter wrote. "As for winter, here in midwest we'll commonly apply heat shrink window film to buffer heat loss."
Others recommended thick curtains, cellular shades, and weatherstripping after visible light was noticed at one window gap.
More background
The OP was not just trying to make the space easier to live with. They were also weighing whether it made sense to keep so much glass at all. More specifically, they asked whether triple glazing would help or if they would be "better off replacing this with regular walls with nice windows."
Several commenters described the room as acting like a greenhouse, which is why they said outdoor shading would likely do more than adding more coverings inside.
One commenter said blackout curtains outside "will make a much bigger difference," and another suggested full-height acrylic storm windows as a way to improve performance.
Airflow came up as another issue. After someone suggested opening the windows in summer, the OP replied, "The windows don't open, other than the tiny one on the right." In a Los Angeles home, that lack of airflow can make it harder to release trapped heat overnight and may keep AC use elevated.
What can be done?
At the low end of the price range, the advice focused on patching rather than replacing. As one commenter put it, combining indoor curtains with exterior shading was "your least expensive option."
For a more durable fix that could keep the sunroom's character, commenters mentioned custom tinted acrylic storm windows. If those measures still do not bring heating and cooling costs under control, some commenters said the solution may be structural: replacing the most exposed window wall with an insulated wall and fewer, high-quality windows.
That would cost more, but it could pay off over time.
Where can I learn more?
There are other similar low-cost ways homeowners deal with overheated rooms and high cooling bills.
• Homeowners are turning to exterior solar shades to block window heat before it enters.
• In another century home, a sweltering bedroom cooled down with budget-friendly advice.
• One homeowner kept a house 10 degrees cooler with simple window shading.
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