The contemporary home uses window blinds to curtain windows so that it covers people from seeing the inside of the room. They also bring in a substantial amount of light and heat into the room without relying on electrical energy for lighting the room. They are a vital part of a room and have several benefits for the house. They have even more benefits from the perspective of an environmentalist and this article will provide more information on the same.
So, to start saving money on your household bills – and to add a beautiful feature to your home – you should turn your attention to your windows.
Can You Save Energy by Using Window Blinds?
The simplest answer is yes, and here is why:
1. When you close the blinds: Closing the window blinds at the correct time reduces the energy you will use at home. On a hot summer day, when the sun’s light shines into some of your windows, it heats the interior, causing you to turn up the air conditioning and use more energy.
By closing down the blinds you keep direct sunlight out of the room and reduce the unwanted solar heat gain. Closing the blinds also save energy in the winter. During cold nights, heat is lost through the windows. Closing the blinds at the right time adds some insulation to the windows and reduces heat loss. Additionally, some blinds can reflect heat into the room
2. When you open the blinds: Likewise, opening the blinds at the right time can save energy. On sunny winter days, the sunlight allowed to shine through windows can help heat the inside space, a process called passive solar heating. The process is an effective design strategy to lower energy consumption in the buildings.
To increase passive solar heat gain, include thermal mass in your interior design, like tile floors. Also, although most people like to keep their blinds closed at night, opening them a little during the hot summer months can allow some heat to escape to the cool night air, and reduce cooling costs
3. Reflective blinds: Window blinds provide shade for windows and add to the insulation value of the window, thereby reducing heat transfer through windows. However, reflective blinds perform better because they reflect light and heat. It is very beneficial in summer to keep homes cool, and in winter to reflect interior heat inside.
Some reflective blinds are reversible, with one side highly reflective and the other highly absorptive. The reflective side should always face the heat. In the summer, the reflective side faces out, and in the winter, it faces in.
4. Interior and exterior blinds: The majority of the blinds are on the interior. This is advantageous as interior blinds are convenient to operate, install and replace, and are also less effective at controlling solar heat gain. Exterior blinds, on the other hand, are usually designed specifically for solar control.
They have either a manual or a remote-control operation. Common materials for exterior blinds are wood, vinyl, aluminum or steel. They are advantageous in that they provide better solar control than interior blinds because they are sturdier, have fewer gaps, and they block the sunlight before it passes through the window glass.
Do Window Blinds Help Insulate?
In a word, yes. Blinds, draperies, and window treatments are effective at cutting the heating and cooling bills, regulating the temperature of the home, and enhancing the home’s overall appearance. Depending on what kind of window treatments you choose, they can be used to create a cooling or insulating effect in the rooms of your house.
However, how they insulate the house, boils down to several factors:
1. If you like to keep your window uncovered: If you are in the habit of keeping your windows uncovered, the exposed glass can make it extremely difficult to keep your home effectively temperature controlled.
In the winter, precious heat will escape through the glass, causing you to have to run your heaters more often and for longer to keep yourself and your home warm. In the summer, glass magnifies the heat of natural sunlight as it enters the window
2. Your choice of blinds: Some blinds are effective at insulating the home with others being less effective. Honeycomb blinds, for instance, are perfect for providing great insulation and light control. Blinds with slats such as Venetian blinds, are also perfect for heat control during the summer but are less effective at preventing heat loss during winter.
As such, consider blackout blinds, which not only help provide the privacy needed as well as blocking out the light during the night but are also thick enough to create a barrier between the window and the room
3. Your choice of fabric: Like with the choice of blinds, some fabrics have a stronger insulating power than others. Thermal fabric is suitable for particularly chilly regions but for other homes, they may not prove to be the best choice especially when the summer comes around.
4. Choose interior blinds: To effectively warm a room during the winter months, consider investing in interior blinds. Blinds absorb the sunlight and offer insulation where it is desired. As a general rule of thumb, white blinds work best for reflecting sunlight, but there are also several other, specially treated blinds, that are engineered to absorb the maximum amount of natural sunlight.
Do Closing Blinds Keep the House Cooler?
Remarkably, yes! Closing the blinds during the day reflects a surprising amount of heat radiating in through windows, especially during the time of day when the sun shines directly onto the home. Choosing white window treatments, as well as closing the curtains or shades during the daytime, helps deflect even more heat from the room, keeping it cool.
By closing the blinds, you keep direct sunlight out of your home and reduce unwanted solar heat gain. Closing window blinds help save energy in the winter since, during cold nights, heat is lost through windows. Closing the blinds will add some insulation to the windows, reducing heat loss.
Blackout blinds are particularly great at keeping the light and heat out of a room. They are not boring as they come in a variety of colors, patterns and fabrics. As already mentioned, Venetian blinds, as well as vertical blinds, are particularly amazing at allowing you to block the direct path of sunlight without blocking the flow of fresh air.
Roman blinds are awesome at regulating a room’s temperature and shutters are excellent at keeping the home cool. In fact, shutters are very popular in hot countries as they keep the rooms cool without blocking out any light.
Best Blinds to Keep Heat Out
1. Perfect fit blinds
They are ideal for reducing heat and glare into the room. They are versatile, are stylish and bring out the brilliance of the design. They can be installed without any drilling or damage to the window frame or plaster, keep windowsills clutter-free, are child- and pet-friendly and look amazing. They come in pleated, roller and Venetian styles, all of which are massively effective in reducing the summer heat.
2. Wood blinds or faux wood blinds
They are horizontal blinds made of wood that come in a variety of slat widths. Wood has a natural appeal, in addition to being both durable and affordable.
Unfortunately, they are problematic in areas where humidity and moisture are high, like in bathrooms. Synthetic Faux wood blinds are a good alternative as they do not fade in sunlight or warp due to humidity like wood, especially in high humidity areas. Faux wood is made of either a composite wood or a PVC/vinyl material which is then stained or painted.
3. Vision blinds
These are almost a hybrid of both roller and Venetian blinds. They are also sometimes referred to as ‘night and day’ blinds and are dual-layer roller blind that can provide total privacy and reduce heat at the same time. They come in a huge range of fabrics, including blackout, which greatly reduces the sun’s heat
4. Roller blinds
Made from fabric that draws up in pleats, this elegant style gradually brings up the blind section by section, to allow you to see how well-lit or shaded you prefer your room. It is a very elegant and chic design that uses different fabrics for an individual feel to your home.
They are a wonderful addition to the list as they are a performance fabric, with a blackout material that keeps out the summer heat. They are a solid sheet of fabric across the window and are slightly more effective at reducing the heat than vertical and Venetian blinds.
Roller blinds are also child-safe, come in a variety of stunning blackout prints and the rollers maximize the window ledge space more effectively than vertical and Venetian blinds.
5. Venetian blinds
We’ve mentioned Venetian blinds several times in this article already. They are wonderful at reducing heat in the room and are available in both aluminum and wood, in a range of slat sizes.
Control light, shade and privacy, without compromising on your view. The classic choice favored by many, they are easy to use with horizontal slats that can be made from various materials, but usually metal or wood. They can be tweaked to let in more or less light, or be lifted all the way up for a better view out of the window.
6. Vertical blinds
They are excellent at reducing the summer heat. they are fantastic as a window covering and offer many options in terms of light control and privacy. They greatly reduce both the glare and heat coming through the fabric and for maximum heat reduction, the blackout fabrics are recommended. They cut out a great amount of light, making them ideal for fighting the summer sun.
Best Ways to Keep the Heat Out from The Windows
1. Use thick curtains or blinds
An aesthetically pleasing option is using light-colored blinds or thick curtains to block out and reflect a lot of the incoming heat. Closing the blinds throughout the day is the most effective way of keeping the heat out of the windows. This is because when closed, they lower the unnecessary solar heat gain by offering insulation to your windows.
2. Cover your window with reflective material
You might as well opt to reflect the light away from the window by installing a reflective material that will do the work. Beat the heat by reflecting it away from the home, like using the shiny windshield sun covers we use in our cars. You can also opt to cover the windows with appropriately-sized sheets of tinfoil secured in place with clear scotch tape.
3. Install solar films on your windows
They are the home equivalent of tinting the windows on your car. A solar film will darken your windows so that less light and heat pass through. In doing so, you not only cool your room but also add value to your home, with some even generating power
4. Hand white towels over the windows
This is a cheap and easy way of deflecting heat away from your windows. Try hanging white towels over your windows using a curtain rod. You will also be able to easily remove them to let some light in, as well as clean them.
5. Open the windows at night
Once the sun goes down, release the additional warmth in the room, accumulated during the hot daylight hours by opening windows and the doors at night. It will allow cooler airflow into the home, switching out the hot daytime air with a cool night breeze, lowering the indoor temperature.