Window Treatment Benefits

Window treatments can go a long way toward boosting your home’s energy efficiency, keeping you comfortable. That’s because compared to insulated walls and ceilings, windows easily allow more heat to escape from a room in winter and more heat to enter a room in summer.

In fact, without energy-efficient window coverings, a home can lose up to 30% of heating and cooling energy through its windows, according to the Department of Energy.

HOW DO WINDOW TREATMENTS IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY?

Window treatments help with a home’s energy efficiency by providing insulation, controlling solar heat gain, and by using natural light to reduce the use of electric light (called daylighting), which saves energy. Here’s a look at each—and how they help create your comfort zone.

Providing insulation—winter/cool climates

• In winter, or if you live in a cool climate, window treatments help insulate at the window, preventing heat from escaping and keeping a room warmer.
• Open your window treatments during the day so that free solar heat from direct sunlight will warm your home.
• On cloudy winter days, close your window treatments to add an insulating layer to your house that will keep warm air in.
• At night, close your window treatments to add that insulating layer.

Controlling solar heat gain—summer/warm climates

• During the day, close your window treatments to prevent the sun’s harsh rays from heating up a room, keeping it cooler (so your A/C doesn’t have to work as hard).
• At night, keep your window treatments closed to keep the cool air in.

Using daylighting

Natural light illuminating a room can make it more inviting, and may even boost your mood at the same time. You can maximize natural light with window treatments that draw it into a room, reducing the need for electric light, which reduces energy use.