Many years back I owned a house with a wonderful view and two 4’x6′ single pane windows along with some smaller windows and a glass slider installed so that one could enjoy the view.

Unfortunately the view was southwest of the house and the climate danged hot in the summer. I cooked. The AC couldn’t keep the house cool on a hot day and the electricity bill hurt.

I tried roll down bamboo shades but they were a pain and generally lasted only a season (even with taking them down in the winter).

I had someone make me some large aluminum screens made with ‘solar screen’. It’s something like screen wire but made of fiberglass(?) and rather than thin wires it has flat strips.

It supposedly cuts 90% of the heat but you can still see through it without problems. It makes the outside appear a bit darker, something like wearing sun glasses.

I would take the screens down in the fall and let the solar gain help heat my house, put them back up in the spring. They were in fine shape when I sold the house a few years later.

I put them in my house and they make a big difference keeping the heat outside. And inside during the winter.

In addition any decision to change the exterior of a house should be viewed as a once in the lifetime of a house opportunity to upgrade the air tightness and insulation of the exterior walls.