Insulated Window Treatments

The rising cost of heating and cooling our homes is a topic on everyone’s mind. We all want to save money but we also want to be comfortable in our homes.

Here’s the good news, forget replacement windows as an effective way of cutting heating and cooling expenses…the payback there is well over a decade long. It's proven that the most efficient way of modulating temperatures in the home is by applying insulated window treatments.

Just about any treatment, be it shades, blinds, shutters or soft treatments will have some degree of insulating properties…some better than others. It is up to you to decide all the factors which weigh into your decision such as appearance, cost, maintenance, lifestyle and relative efficiencies, and then to choose appropriately. Your design professional is there to help you through the process.

Remember the 1970’s when President Carter told us to wear a sweater?...and those ugly window blankets that looked like refugees from the Army/Navy store?. Today’s insulated treatments are the state of the art in efficiency and beauty.

Today’s better window covering professionals are ecologically responsible and are prepared to talk to you in detail about your R-factors and heat gain co-efficiencies. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand any of this, certainly I’m not but I do attend classes several times over the course of a year so that I can speak to my clients intelligently about such things.

R-factors and the like are industry standards that measure the efficiency of insulating materials. They are standards in place so that you, the consumer, may make informed comparisons when purchasing goods.

The shade company I've chosen to represent, Hunter Douglas, has developed a shade which has the highest R-factor in the industry...The Duette Architella (at right) is an innovative honeycomb within a honeycomb.

If you choose soft treatments such as draperies or roman shades, they can be interlined with a flannel-like fabric called “bump” which will not only add an extra layer of insulation but also adds a luxe look to the finished goods. These are not the foam-backed insulated draperies you may be familiar with but an elegant and high-end way of treating draperies. This is traditional in the old world where central heating was and still is in some places, non-existent.

Apart from the physical features of various window treatments for insulation is the psychological “feel” we have towards certain materials. Smooth and hard is not as warm in our perception as soft and fuzzy…it’s just an association based on years of experience that we hold. Mylar films, flimsy and lightweight, are some of the most efficient insulators we have developed yet our senses would have us believe otherwise. So…if you choose some of the hi-tech methods and materials to keep your home cozy and warm, make sure you include some of the soft and fuzzy ones for your human sensibilities. Your brain will thank you!

For more information on this topic, see energy saving window coverings on www.Green-Energy-Efficient-Homes.com