I finally installed the Solar Shades and they went up in minutes with minimal tools and effort. We face south and west and these shades truly do what they are meant to do - block the sun and heat. I lower them in the mid-afternoon and it lowers the temperature in our family room by several degrees. In fact, these are working so well for us we have only had to use our central AC twice for only a few hours in the evening. We live in a townhouse and are the envy of the neighbourhood as we can enjoy our outdoor living space while everyone else hides inside from the sun.