Energy Efficient Window

Energy Efficient Window Coverings  

Energy saving window coverings will save you some energy in a various ways:

• By keeping the sunlight out of view in the summer (when sunlight turns into unwanted heat), and then allowing sunlight to pass through during the winter months (when you need solar heating)
• By adding another insulating layer between the windows and your room, this reduces the heat exchange in both summer and winter
• By allowing some of the light in, so that you do not need to use as much electric lighting, while still keeping heat transfer in control.

Fitted window coverings. These energy saving window coverings will create a dead air spacing between them and the window glass, which significantly increases the value of insulation for the window covering, compared to window coverings that offer free airflow between the covering and your window.

ENERGY STAR window coverings: Window treatments did not come as part of the ENERGY STAR efficiency rating program, this means that you will not find any ENERGY STAR ratings on window covering products. So use this webpage to select the most energy saving window coverings that you can find for your home.

Insulation R values of energy saving window coverings: Standard window blinds and window curtains have an insulating value of only R-1. Energy saving window coverings that has an added insulation layer, like honeycomb blinds or curtains that has an insulating lining, may have insulating values that can be up to R6. Rigid foam panels that are custom cut to the size of a window opening in the basement or other room that are not used frequently can have R-values that can go up to the R-value of the panel. For example, my friends use about a 2-inch thickness layer of pink foam panels because the energy saving window coverings for the basement windows of their winter sized cottage, gives an R-8 insulation value.

Awnings and overhangs: These energy saving window coverings will prevent the hot summer sun from even hitting the outside of your windows at home, while they allow the lower-angled winter sun right into your home where sunlight is then converted to heat.

Light-colored energy saving window coverings , light colored paints and surfaces will reflect visible light sources like sunlight. Reflect sunlight so that you can prevent it from heating up the inside of your home during the summer. They can also be opened on cold days to allow solar energy to warm up your home.

There are some energy saving window coverings that provide some layer of insulation, which prevents the convection currents from moving the room air past your window glass. If you will use these energy saving window coverings that cut down on air convection, you will be able to avoid the transfer of heat between the room and the outside air, whether during summer or winter. The insulation value of energy saving window coverings may vary from zero to over an R-10 for very thick, custom-made rigid foam inserts.

Mesh window screens – they not only keep out unwanted pests and insects during summer, but they also diffuse the sunlight that enters your house, especially on the eastward and westward facing windows, efficiently reducing the heat gain during summer. The downside is that their effect on heat transfer is just small enough that it is quite a stretch to give them the term energy saving window coverings.

Window facing direction – You will get the hottest sunlight from windows that face west so if you are want to keep your house cool, make sure to either use high reflectivity energy saving window coverings, awning, or energy saving window films. Make sure to plan for as much natural lighting as possible – so that you can save on electric lighting costs as well as for heating and cooling. South-facing windows provide gives the best natural light, so this means that energy saving window coverings that reflect those infrared radiation but allows some of the light in the visible spectrum are the best.

Energy Efficient Window Shades

       Roller shades are very much efficient compared to curtains and louvered blinds, this is due to the fact that they sit in close proximity to the glass, which restricts convection currents and thus reducing the heat exchange by up to 28%. If you are going to seal the side edges of roller shades, for example by utilizing side tracks, you will be able to reduce heat exchange by as much as 45%.

Ideally, shades must be reversible, with a light colored, reflective side and a dark colored, heat-absorbing side. During cold weather, the light reflective side must be placed facing inwards, so that the refective side will be able to reflect the indoor heat away from your window and back to your room, while the heat absorbing side can convert visible light spectrum coming from the outside into heat. During warm weather the reflective side must face out in order so that the sunlight will not be able to warm up the room.

If you posses some skill with sewing machine or you know how to make a dress, you can build your own roman shades out of several pieces of cloth, and you can save a lot on what it would cost you to have them built professionally, and at the same time save energy in your home.

Energy Efficient Curtains and Drapes

       To get maximum efficiency though, it is best to get drapes that are snug on all sides, for example with the use of velcro or magnetic tape on the side seams and also on the walls at the outside edges of your curtain. Drapes which are snug against walls and blocking vertical airflow as well will cut heat loss up to 25%.

Medium colored drapes that have white plastic backing are the best for keeping out the heat in summer. This white backing reflects some sunlight on the outside before it gets converted into heat, while the medium color also allows enough natural light into your room to so that the room will be usable without a light.

When you are buying curtains, or fabrics for making your own curtains, keep looking for closed-weave fabric, which does a much better job compared to open-weave fabric of reducing both airflow and light between your window space and your room space.

Double layer drapes are more efficient than single layer as more separate air spaces will be created and convection current is reduced.

Energy Efficient Window Overhangs

       If you are thinking and planning for a new home, or maybe putting on an additional stuff, that has windows that face south, you should consider designing energy saving window overhangs into the structure of your window. An adequately sized window overhang, like for example an extended roof, extra-wide soffit, or maybe an upstairs balcony over a downstairs window, blocks the direct sunlight coming from the hot summer sun, while they allow the lower-angled winter sun to shine into your home and give warmth.

You also need to take into account the local site characteristics, so that it is best to find a solar heating designer which can help you account for other factors like the changing angle of the sun through the whole year, and also the amount of solar radiation through the different seasons.