The Most Energy Efficient Window Treatments – Get to Know More

Your home's heating energy of about 30% in the winter is lost through the windows. In the warmer summer months, about 76% of sunlight falls on your windows, enters your home and creates heat inside. Energy efficient window treatments can help you to save valuable money all year round on your heating and cooling costs for your home.

Functional Window Treatments

Choosing functional custom window treatments allows you to decide whether you want to open or close the window coverings. They maximize your privacy, natural lighting to reduce the need for artificial lighting, reduce heat gain in the summer, and take advantage of the warm sun in the winter. Functional window treatments includecustom draperies, indoor shutters, blinds and shades of many types.

Custom Fabric Window Treatments

Choosing fabric window treatments gives you the most flexibility in the fabric weight, texture, colors, patterns and styles for your window coverings. The thickness of your fabric is related directly to the energy efficient thicker materials insulating your windows better to keep the heat and cold out of your home or office. Fabric window treatments energy efficient include drapery, and window shades. You can choose from a window treatment store literally thousands of different fabrics to create your own unique style with fabric window coverings. To help you select the best fabric, read on about Which Window Treatment Fabric Suits You.

Lovely Layered Drapery

Layered draperiesgive you a lot of functionality while adding an excellent sense of beauty and style to any decor you may have. The first layer of drapery is usually sheer panels that lie near the window followed by a heavier fabric for drapery panels over them. This type of layering allows you to open both sets of panels to see outside without marring your view and to let in some natural sunshine in the winter to add warmth to your home. If you want filtered lighting, you can open the second layer of drapes and leave the sheers closed. For total privacy and room darkening capabilities in the summer you can close both sets of fabric and keep the hot sun at bay so it doesn't enter your home.

Wonderful Window Shades

Fabric window shades can blend into their surroundings or they can make a great statement piece and focal point in any room. Roller shades provide you with sleek and neat lines in your windows. They appear as a flat fabric when they are closed and the fabric rolls up onto a cassette at the top of the window out of sight when you raise them. Roller shades are considered a minimalist window treatment when you choose a solid color--but you can choose an exciting pattern as well to dress up a room in an instant.

If you are seeking elegance and timeless beauty, you may want totry Roman shadesfor your custom window treatments. There are several styles from which to choose including a flat style that looks like a flat piece of fabric when it's down and then it folds up into tidy folds at the top of the window when you open it. Another popular Roman shade style is the hobbled style that shows soft folds both when it is down or up.

Choosing thicker fabrics for either of these types ofwindow shadeswill improve your energy efficiency all year round.

Cellular Shades

Cellular shadesor honeycomb shades as they are also commonly called are very energy efficient window treatments due to their design. They are made with little cells that look like a bee's honeycomb which are sandwiched in between two layers of material. The cells trap air next to your windows when the shades are down so the hot air doesn't enter your home in the summer and the cold air doesn't enter your home in the winter. This helps you to use much less energy on your heating and cooling bills all year round.

Continue reading aboutCellular Shades: Save Money, Add Beauty & Practicality.

Real Wood and Faux Wood Products

Natural wood and faux wood products are natural insulators because of the air pockets in its cellular structure. These products also help to insulate your windows in your home or business. Hard wood blinds and shutters are absolutely stunning in their beautiful design, which is even more amazing with your choice of stain, or paint on them to bring out the lovely wood grain.

Faux wood products are composite products that were originally made especially for hot and humid areas, such as kitchens, bathrooms, mudrooms and laundry rooms. Real wood will eventually break down after several years of heat, humidity and sunlight on them. Faux wood products are specially treated with products to resist yellowing, fading, cracking, warping or breaking even when the hot sunlight shines on them constantly. Another great quality of faux wood blinds and indoor window & plantation shutters is that they look identical to hardwood, last longer, and are available at a lower price point.

Choosing any custom window treatments that are energy efficient is a smart move because they will actually pay for themselves in a short amount of items in your energy savings.