Window Coverings Keep Your Home Cool

It’s August and that means high outdoor temperatures in many places.

When the thermometer goes above 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) your home can become uncomfortable warm, especially if you don’t have air conditioning inside or are like most of us trying to cut down on our utility expenses.

Fortunately, the window fashion industry offers you several ways to keep your home cool without spending a fortune on your air conditioning bill!

The first is to install efficient cellular shades or window blinds on all your windows.

Solar shades can really keep your home cooler, especially if you have large windows with a southerly exposure.

The second is to consider installing solar shades or tinting your windows; especially ones that face a more southerly direction and are likely to receive direct sunlight throughout much of the day.

Window Coverings Offer Thermal Insulation

If you don’t think window blinds or shades are necessary in some rooms of your home, either because privacy is not critical in these rooms or because you like having a lot of natural light in the room, it’s still worth installing window coverings that will insulate your windows, keeping cool air in on hot days and warm air in during the colder winter months.

Cellular Shades Keep Your Home Cool

Cellular shades are the most efficient type of window covering available on today’s market; the honeycomb design of these shades traps air, providing excellent thermal insulating capabilities. Attractive and affordable, pleated blinds are available in a wide range of colours and come in single, double or even triple cellular material, depending on just how efficient you want your window shades to be!

Roller solar shades offer UV protection and keep your room cool when the sun beats down, but roll up nicely out of the way when you want to let in light and have a full view out the window.

Solar Shades Block Direct Sunlight

Solar shades are typically roller blinds made of a material that blocks UV rays and keeps heat from entering the living space in your home or flat when direct sunlight beats down on the window. You can choose from a variety of semi-permeable mesh fabrics or tinted plastic when buying solar shades. They are also great for keeping your conservatory or sun room cool and can be fitted not only to the windows but also to the glass roof windows, making your conservatory cool and comfortable even on the hottest days.

Easy to Operate Shades for Your Conservatory

Available with motorised controls, cellular and solar shades are also easy to operate so that you can let in as much light as you want on an overcast day to brighten your conservatory and get away from the darker, drearier confines of rooms that have small windows or windows facing Northward, which tend to be quite dark when the sun is obscured by cloud cover.

Tips to Keeping Your Home Cool on Hot Days

Attractive cellular and pleated shades offer great thermal efficiency and can be dressed up with toppers such as this decorative valance.

• Close your windows and lower the shades or blinds during the heat of the day
• Open your windows and raise the shades or blinds at night to let the cool air in; the whole idea is similar to the concept of an ice box, using the natural cooling and heating cycle of day and night to maintain a nice, steady cool temperature inside
• Use ceiling fans and/or portable fans to create a nice cross breeze through your home when you open things up in the evening; the key to cooling a living space is adequate ventilation
• Install window awnings or plant shade trees over South-facing windows to help keep the direct sun off them
• Avoid strenuous activity during the heat of the day and stay inside when the temperature outdoors is at its hottest
• Don’t run appliances such as your clothes washer and dryer, dishwasher or oven during the middle of the day; save these chores for evening when things are much cooler

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