Can you get a bunch of potted bushes/trees instead? Or put up trellises and get vines going? They'd probably love the sun, give you shade, and be prettier than barriers.

A sheet-of-water fountain along the window. Just add ice.

Liquid Nitrogen Underwear.

Tape tinfoil up over the windows. It'll keep the sun out and make you look like a man who should not be messed with.

Grow cactus!

I wonder if window film would help?

Also, leaving your windows shut during the day (opening in the evening/overnight).

I had the exact same problem with an apartment I had once. You don't want to put up awnings or anything permanent or too expenive, right?

I'm not sure what you mean by blinds, but what you need are shades - the room darkening plastic shades that pull down. You'll notice a difference right away. And I know this sounds crazy, but with the apartment that I had where the sun beat down all afternoon, I took down all the shades and lined them with good old aluminum foil, shiny side out, using double sided tape. It reflected the sun back out, and really helped substantially.

On preview: I see cmonkey is a tin foil connoisseur too.

If all else fails, you could just break out the grappling irons and plunder the neighbor's AC.

Second the vine idea. If you can't attach anything to the balcony structure, you can attach trellises to the plant pots, or get fancy pots with trellises built in.

Blotting out the windows would work, of course, but I'd find it totally depressing.

I have no idea about the cost, but you can get a silvery reflective film that goes on your windows and deflects the rays (it's possible that it has to be "installed").

As an added benefit, during the day, at least, nobody can see into your windows (though you can still see out), so you can leave your shades up and still walk around in all your glorious Capn nudity. I can't vouche for it, since I haven't tried it, but I would really like this for two of my windows.

Can you fit a trellis planter like this out there? Plant morning glory vines. They grow like wildfire.

Oh and more about the shades - you can get them custom cut at stores like Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc, and they're super cheap - probably less than 10.00US each.

And about lining them with tin foil - I'm not sure how that would work if the windows were closed (would it reflect the heat out, or just back onto the window for twice the heat!), but I used to do the tin foil thing when the windows were open, which was most of the summer, because we had no AC. It was a lifesaver for us.

Here's an example of what I mean from Lowe's, although this particular one is 73 inches across, so it's more expensive than what you might need.

Also from Lowe's - Heat Control Window Film!

Save money and energy
Reflect up to 55% of summer heat
Retain up to 45% of winter heating
Reduce up to 99% of UV rays
Safe for single and dual panes
Easy to apply
Removable

Be macho and put the tinfoil on the OUTSIDE of the window. Better yet, put that aluminized bubble wrap on the outside of the window. Keep that deadly IR at a distance. Radiation is not your friend.

PS: Message recieved. Replacement on way.

I have the same problem -- west-facing window (which is HUGE). I got some bamboo blinds at Home Depot and hung them outside, thus keeping the sun from getting into the house. They help a lot.

The concrete -- you can drill into it. You just need a masonry drill bit to do so. If you drill a hole and can't screw hooks into it, glue the hooks with epoxy that bonds to concrete. Et voila.

I can, yes, I meant "shouldn't".

The plant idea sounds like a good one. I'm hoping to move within a year, so I'm not looking to do anything too permanent or expensive. I'll look in to the heat film too.

Reflect up to 55% of summer heat
Retain up to 45% of winter heating

That's pretty damn funny right there.

Keep telling me how hot my brain is, baby.

Your brain is so hot, hats turn to ash just being near you.

I have south facing windows, so, of course i'm meant to roast in a daily convection oven or live in a cave.

must make more curtains.
So far, the key is sealing in the non stop air conditioning.
because i am bad.

I'm a bit embarassed to admit this, but nothing beats lying on the couch covered with bags of frozen peas. You can only do this so many times though before the peas themselves become "questionable."

Maybe you could recycle the peas just for cooling.

relief = pleasure

damn flaming skyball.

Check out this thread.

Check out that thread checking out this thread