We have A LOT of south facing windows. When we built our home, I was all "Yay! Light" (our apartment was dismally dark) and as soon as the summer hit, I was all "oh crap, its' hot".

We ultimately installed air conditioning (not a green alternative, I know). We have hung the solar film, and it makes a HUGE difference. It only distorts the view if you're looking out your window at an angle - straight on and you can hardly tell it's there.

You could always hook one of these up: http://lifehacker.com/181510/make-your-own-air-co... A friend of mine made one, and said that it works pretty well, actually.