I made curtain panels out of Temptrol using small tension curtain rods to set into the windows during the summer and remove for the winter. This fabric is very easy to sew by hand as well as by sewing machine. It is easy to cut and does not leave residue everywhere.
On my black out curtains, due to the rods already in the wall, I stitched Temptrol to the window-facing side of the drapes, the size of the window so that not all the curtain had the reflective fabric.
This application helps keep the heat in during the winter because the reflective side is facing the bedroom. During the summer there are the removable Temptrol panels against the glass, behind the Venetian blinds with the reflective part facing out. The master bedroom which, of course, is the furthest from the HVAC meaning it gets the least heat and AC, with the Temptrol applications (the window panel and the back side of the black-out curtains) made the room truly livable in the summer afternoon.
I am relatively new to this reflective industry and did not know much about the uses of this product. I can say however from my own use, the south facing windows get so much sun and heat in the summer that the wall studs and walls surrounding the windows were always hot in the afternoon transmitting that heat into the home. The area near those windows was a furnace. Once the panels were put up, the walls were cool to the touch from the inside all day long and even at sundown when the heat is being released from building materials. All that radiant heat was not being transferred into the building materials but reflected out. The comfort level in that bay window area of the home changed drastically.
In this photo the center and right window have the panel while the left window does not. You can see how it adds more darkness to the blinds yet light still comes out from the sides.
Using just a panel of the fabric for an inset in the window works extremely well and uses less fabric. I have seen curtains made for tall windows like drapes, and in my opinion, it seems to be a lot of wasted fabric and added expense.
Using just a panel still allows light to filter around the edges so the room is not dark, nothing worse than a completely dark house in the summer, like living in a cave. One last thought, with the reflective panel right against the glass, the radiant heat is stopped in its tracks versus, setting up drapes closer into the room leaving the decorative drapes closest to the glass. That heat is still penetrating the building materials (walls) from the super-heated glass and part of the room until it reaches the fabric. Better to stop the heat before it has a chance to heat the walls, right?
The material is a great DIY product and can solve numerous issues in a home, a tent, a trailer, RV and so much more. For the clothing applications of Temptrol, the fabric is microperforated maximizing breathability making it great for clothing and, it is meant to keep the body warm by putting the reflective side against the body, reflecting the body’s heat back to itself.
Temptrol is great for sleeping bags, blankets, tents, tarps, awnings, canopies, solar screens, grocery totes, boot liners, parkas, pants, comforters, caps, jackets, machinery covers, RV wheel covers, golf green covers, and nursery covers. The fabric is puncture and tear resistant, with 95% reflectivity, does not promote bacterial or fungi growth, provides infrared shielding and electromagnetic and radio frequency interference shielding. Best of all, it is non-toxic.
One of the great outdoor uses is for tents. If you have been camping, you know how hot a tent can be in the mornings particularly, the East side. Temptrol reduces the heat inside the tent by blocking the radiant heat from entering. Applying it to a rain flap can work however is not as efficient as inside the tent. The best application is to use an endoskeleton, lightweight to transport, when camping and put it up inside the tent then drape it with Temptrol. All you need to do is fix the ends of the fabric to wood dowls or anything round that will give it a little weight on each end so once draped over the endoskeleton, the dowls will keep it in place.