Harness Fabric for Heating and Cooling

Fabric window treatments can help you manage the energy bills in your home by controlling both light and heat. The Department of Energy suggests these steps for harnessing the insulating power of fabric.

Keep it cool in the summer

• 1. White (or white-backed) shades, blinds or drapes will deflect heat, making A/C more efficient. When completely closed and lowered, highly reflective blinds can reduce heat gain up to 45 percent.
• 2. To further reduce ambient heat from outdoors, close curtains or blinds on south- and west-facing windows during the heat of the day.
• 3. Medium-weight drapes with a white backing can reduce heat gain by up to 33 percent.
• 4. Draperies can stay cooler in the summer than other window treatments because heat escapes through the folds and pleats by convection.
• 5. Awnings over those south- and west-facing windows can reduce what is called “solar heat gain” by up to 77 percent, which can translate into lower a/c costs.
• 6. Blinds are more effective at blocking summer heat gain than winter heat loss.

Keeping it warm in the winter

• 1. Close drapes at night and on windows not receiving direct sunlight during the day to reduce heat loss by about 10%.
• 2. Hang draperies as close to the window as possible, and create a draft-reducing seal around the window by allowing them to reach the floor or a sill and either installing a cornice at the top or installing them at ceiling level. This can help reduce heat loss by up to 25 percent.
• 3. To make a room even more warm and comfy, overlap the two drapes at the center meeting point and seal them with magnetic tape or Velcro. And two sets of drapes hung atop one another work like layering your clothes: the room-side drapes will stay at room temp while the window-side set gets chilly—and keeps the chill at bay.
• 4. Dual shades can help in both warm and cold seasons with the flexibility of being reversible. The highly reflective (white) side and darker heat-absorbing side each work to keep a room at a comfortable temp, but they must be completely drawn to do so.
• 5. Shades with multiple layers of fabric, like quilted roller shades or Roman shades, act as both an insulator and a draft blocker, making them more effective than many other window treatments at preserving interior temperatures. Source: www.energy.gov