How Window Treatments Like Blinds and Shutters Make Your Home More Energy Efficient
Most people know that window treatments such as blinds, shades, or curtains can help protect your privacy and control the level of brightness in your home. What you may not be aware of is the ways that window treatments can improve your home’s energy efficiency. We want to help you get the most from your window treatments, including reaping the most benefits to your efficiency. To help you do that, in this article we will outline exactly how your treatments make your home more efficient.
The basic principle at work here is that window treatments—whether they are blinds, shades, curtains, or shutters—create a barrier to heat energy. When your shades are down, heat from the sun has to pass through both the window glass and the shades’ fabric before it can enter your home, or heat from your furnace has to pass through these layers before it can leave it. With each layer, the amount of heat passing through decreases, keeping your home comfortable all year round by keeping the heat where you want it. By maximizing passive heat retention/deflection, your climate control system won’t have to work as hard, making your home more energy efficient and saving you money on your heating and cooling bills.
Though all window treatments offer added layers of protection against heat, some treatment options are designed to maximize this effect. One such option is cellular or honeycomb shades, which are made of layers of fabric stitched together to create gaps like honeycomb cells in between them. These cells create pockets of air that further limit heat transfer and can reduce heat transfer by as much as 80 percent.
If you want to use your window treatments to make your home as efficient as possible, consult your local windows company or home improvement company. They can help you choose the best options to reduce your energy usage and keep your home comfortable. There are many different options such as blinds, shades, shutters, and more. You will need to consider each one carefully.
