Insulated Window Blinds and How to Keep Your Home Warm This Winter

It’s December after a couple of unseasonably warmer weeks in mid-November, it’s time for the real winter chill to creep in here in Scottsdale. This time on the Budget Blinds of Scottsdale blog, how to keep your home warm this winter with window treatments like insulated window blinds!

Why Window Treatments?

We’ve talked about it before, but windows are huge holes in your home’s insulation capabilities. Where all the walls will have some form of insulation, typically foam or fiberglass material, the windows are just glass. These big insulation free zones have little R-value, meaning that the transfer of heat either into your home (during the summer) or out of your home (during the winter) is free to do as it pleases.

That’s no good for your energy bill or your comfort! So what can you do to solve that? Well, you need to add something to those windows that will give it some R-value. In this case, that means window treatments! Window coverings and window treatments add layers to the window, whether it’s a drape, blinds, or shutters, these coverings are made of materials an those materials (and the way they are installed) will give those open spaces in your home some much needed coverage.

So, what treatments make good insulators?

What Kind of Window Treatments Are Good Insulators?

Since windows account for about 25% of heat loss, any window treatment is better than nothing! 

Wood blinds roller or Roman shades, vertical blinds, all can act at the minimum as a barrier to temperature loss. Shutters are a good option since their frames are built tightly into the window, blocking air from moving around the covering through the cracks. The thickness and materials  of the louvers themselves (the individual panels in the shutters) also make for an excellent insulator. 

The goal for an insulator is to be as close to the windowpane as possible. That glass is what is cold and any air that comes into contact with it will lose its heat. By putting a barrier almost directly against the glass, it limits the amount of warm air that is able to be drained by the cold glass. If the blinds or shades have an inside mount, that fits snug in the window frame, those will work better than coverings mounted on the exterior of the window frame. Drapes or curtains that hang out from the window aren’t going to do much here.

The Single Best Window Insulator

The single most effective window insulator is, drum roll please…

The Cellular Shade!

We have talked about how great the cellular or honeycomb shades are in the past when it comes to insulating in the summertime, but the same principle applies in the winter too!  These shades are built with two layers of fabrics that are adhered together creating the cells or honeycomb like pockets that give them their name. These pockets or cells trap a layer of air that slows the transfer of heat massively, creating three new layers of resistance for the heat to move through. 1) The first fabric layer near the window then into 2) the air cell in the middle of the shades, and finally through 3) the layer of fabric that is between the interior of your home and the cell. The R value of the window shoots up double, to around a 7 from the 3.5 of a standard, uncovered window. All from using a cellular shade.

So if you’re looking for one window solution to rule them all, you’re looking for cellular shades. But you don’t have to stop there!

The Power of Layers

Just like bundling up in the cold helps you feel warm, layering up your window coverings will drastically enhance the insulation of your windows. The best approach to take is layering multiple coverings. The power of the cellular shade is in it’s built-in three layers, now imagine if you threw some drapes on that?

If you don’t want cellular shades, preferring the look of shutters or blinds then using a thermal-lined drape set up can get you the insulation you need with the style you want. That thermal lining will give your drapes better-insulating properties as well as protect them from the UV rays, keeping them from discoloring or other damage.

And hey, good news! The window treatments you use to insulate your home during the winter are the best for keeping out heat in the summer too! And here in Arizona, we need all the help we can get to keep our homes cool and comfortable during those sweltering summer days!