Curtains help with heat retention by limiting the flow of air between the warm and cold areas of a room. Even double-glazed windows will afford heat with a chance to escape, but a set of heavy curtains will form a barrier that'll limit the flow of air from the main room to the window.
Close your curtains at night
During the day, your windows let in more radiant energy than gets out; sunlight can enter through the glass, but the window is opaque to the infrared radiation trying to escape.
Closing curtains at night can reduce heat loss by up to 17 percent. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, using curtains with thermal lining can reduce heat loss by up to 25 percent. Using curtains with white plastic backings can reduce heat gain by up to 33 percent.
Blackout curtains and shades will reduce the amount of heat which is transferred via your windows by as much as 24 percent, keeping the rooms where they're installed cooler in summer and warmer in winter.
If you're trying to beat the heat inside your home, energy-saving window treatments will go a long way in reducing the amount of heat streaming into your home. Closing curtains can help cool the interior, save money on utility bills and lessen the wear and tear on your HVAC system.
The rule you should go by is whether it is hotter outside than inside. If the temperature is higher outside than it is inside, you should keep your windows and curtains closed. This will shut the heat out, and help to keep your home cool.
Drapes, curtains and blinds enable you to control the amount of sunlight that enters the room. If you keep them closed completely, you can block the light and heat coming from the sun. You might want to consider window treatments with a light-colored or reflective backing as they are known to work best.
Closing curtains at night traps that heat in your home, and you'll be able to turn the thermostat down and use less heating. Both of these methods reduce the strain on your home's heating and air conditioning system, saving significant energy and money.
Black and white are the colours that you might be wondering about which colour will give your room a cooler temperature. Well, the answer is white curtain colours keep the room cooler than a black coloured curtain fabric because the colour white reflects the thermal energy and black absorbs it.
Curtains offer better insulation and soundproofing.
In warm weather, however, blinds beat curtains in energy efficiency. Because blinds leak more heat from a room, they also decrease indoor heat gain more efficiently in the summer, by around 45 percent, which can lower your AC bills.
Insulated Cellular Shades
For leaky windows, insulated cellular shades, sometimes called honeycomb shades, are one of the two most effective window treatments for keeping out the cold air and keeping in the heat.
There's a lot to love about blackout curtains: They keep the light out so you get a great night's rest, they help keep your home cool in summer and warm in winter (saving you money and helping the environment), and they can even reduce noise if you live in a busy area.
Keeping cool
In general, the more opaque the curtains or blinds are, the better the cooling result will be. There are even specialty 'solar' curtains that have been designed for this very purpose.
First, check for these common problems: Dirty air filter—A dirty filter restricts airflow, not letting your home get enough cool air. Closed vents—Closed vents in rooms can cause them to be hotter than other rooms. Open windows—Your conditioned air can flow out of open windows, leaving uneven temperatures in your home.
In warmer months, three-quarters of the sunlight that shines through standard, double-pane windows enters the house to become heat. Adding window treatments, fixing broken and leaky windows, and choosing new, Low-E glass window panes designed to reduce heat gain can keep you comfortable with less wasted power.
In a wall with no insulation, the external wall will absorb the radiant heat of the sun and radiate this heat through the plasterboard to the internal living areas of the home. . In winter, this situation is reversed with your warm indoor air moving through the plasterboard and outside of the home.
If your home is well insulated and shaded, it should be able to resist several days of extreme heat. Closing doors, windows and curtains during the heat of the day can help the house stay cooler than outside. Ceiling fans provide air movement to make you feel cooler.
Generally, if your house is decently insulated, keep the windows and blinds closed when the sun is shining. Open the windows in the evening and at night. More specifically, keep the windows closed when the outside temperature is hotter than it is inside, and open the windows when it's cooler outside than inside.
Ideally, you should use both types of curtains and change them from the cold to the warm season. Blackout curtains will keep your house cooler during the sizzling hot summer days, while thermal curtains will keep warmth from escaping out of the windows.
Blackout curtains are made from a lighter triple weave fabric which is designed to block out light, compared to Thermal curtains which are made from 3 layers of thick fabric, in most case using 100 % cotton, polyester, or wool, and to protect them from UV rays, the back part of the curtains are coated with acrylic foam ...
The primary purpose of blackout curtains is to keep light from streaming into the home where it is not wanted, but they also can serve to help insulate the home by blocking direct sunlight. Blackout curtains shouldn't be ironed, bleached or placed in the washing machine because of their often synthetic linings.
Select blinds that will suit your needs
If you want to use blinds to stay warm this winter, the choice is endless. However, blinds will only retain heat when they are not slatted, so roller and roman blinds should be at the top of your shopping list.