Did you know?
As much as 50% of a home’s heating and cooling energy can be lost through windows that are not protected by energy-saving window treatments.
According to the US Department of Energy, roughly 25% of annual heating and cooling costs are due to air leakage through windows, and this percentage can be up to 40% in older homes.
If you’re interested in lowering your energy bill by reducing heat loss in winter and heat gain in the summer, read on to learn about the energy-saving features you should look out for!
Retain Heat During Winter
In winter, windows that are tightly sealed can still produce the sensation of a chilly draft to people standing nearby.
Why?
A window pane is thin compared to a wall with insulation. The glass becomes very cold to the touch and radiates chilly temperatures out into your home, making it feel colder.
Most people raise the heat on their thermostat to maintain a comfortable temperature in their home, which ends up raising the energy bill.
Insulating window treatments can RETAIN the heat you already have in your home by slowing the heat transfer out of the window. By eliminating or reducing the chill from windows and preventing heat from escaping the other side, the thermostat will not be called upon as much to maintain comfortable temperatures in your home and you’ll save money.
Retain Cool Temperatures During Summer
The warmth provided by the sun may be welcome during the winter, but it can make your room too hot and uncomfortable in the summer, driving up air conditioning costs. Many Hunter Douglas window fashions help block heat from entering your home through solar heat control.
Window treatments with solar heat control will reflect incoming sunlight back out of the window, blocking heat from entering your home to maintain a cooler space.
Select Hunter Douglas products with solar heat control can cut solar heat gain through the window by up to 80%, requiring less air conditioning to maintain comfortable temperatures on hot days.
Additionally, insulating window treatments can keep the home cooler by slowing the transfer of heat from the sun into the home.
How to Choose?
Window treatments with solar heat control are more effective at cooling during the summer than insulating window treatments but they do not help keep the home warm during cold winter months.
Therefore, if keeping your home cool is a bigger prioritythan keeping your home warm, solar heat control is the best for you.
If keeping your home warm is a bigger priority, insulating window treatments are best.
If you’d like the best of both worlds, an insulating window treatment will keep the home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Just keep in mind that the strongest benefits of insulating window treatments will come in winter because the difference between indoor and outdoor heat is less dramatic during the summer.
Questions to consider:
- Look back on your energy bills. Did you pay more on energy during the winter or the summer?
- Are you more uncomfortable when your house gets hot or when your house is cold?
- Do you feel uncomfortable around windows during winter because of the chilly air?
-
Are certain rooms in your home more susceptible to cold or heat?
The most efficient energy-saving tactic for your home may be to install insulating window treatments in some rooms and solar heat control in others.For example, do you have a window over your bed producing a chilly draft around your head as you sleep?
The Hunter Douglas Solution
Hunter Douglas is an industry leader in engineering energy-saving window treatments. They developed the highly innovative Duette® Honeycomb Shades that features an extra layer of insulation in response to the energy crisis of the late 1970s. Their latest innovation, the Duette® Architella®, features a honeycomb within a honeycomb design for even greater energy efficiency.
Hunter Douglas ranks each of their window treatments on energy savings by a six-star system.
The following Hunter Douglas window treatment models are ranked with five or six stars:
The Duette® Architella® Trielle™ Elan® 1.5″ Opaque Honeycomb Shades received an unprecedented six star ranking in both Insulation and Solar Heat Control.
Two window treatments received a five star ranking in both Insulation and Solar Heat Control:
Duette® Architella® 1.25″, 3/8″ and 3/4″ Opaque Honeycomb Shades
NewStyle® Hybrid Shutters
Two window treatments received a five star ranking for Insulation:
Duette® Architella® Trielle™ Elan® 1.5″ Semi-Opaque Honeycomb Shades
Duette® Architella® 1.25″ Semi-Opaque Honeycomb Shades
Four window treatments received a five star ranking for Solar Heat Control:
Duette® Architella® 3/8″ Semi-Opaque Honeycomb Shades
Palm Beach™ Polysatin™ Shutters
Duette® Architella® Honeycomb Shades
Hunter Douglas’ Duette® Honeycomb Shades are the original cellular shades, specifically engineered to provide beauty and style as well as energy efficiency. Their honeycomb construction traps air in individual pockets which creates insulation that can help lower your energy bills and energy consumption. They are available in a wide range of fabrics, pleat sizes, colors, textures and opacities to suit your decorative needs.
The revolutionary Architella® Honeycomb Shade style features a honeycomb within a honeycomb construction to provide maximum energy efficiency, as compared to the regular Duette®, which is a single cell design. The doubled cell structure equates to extra energy savings for you. With many fabrics and colors, it’s both functional and beautiful – working to trap air, while pairing perfectly with any decor.
Duette® Architella® Trielle™ Elan® 1.5″ Opaque Honeycomb Shades provide the MOST energy-savings for temperature control of all Hunter Douglas products. It was the only style or model to receive a six star ranking by Hunter Douglas in both Insulation and Solar Heat Control.
Hunter Douglas Duette® Architella® Honeycomb Shades. Fabric/Material: Alexa. Color: Desert Sands. Operating System: PowerView® Motorization.
Here you can see thedouble honeycomb structureup-close:
Hunter Douglas Duette® Architella®. Fabric/Material: Panache™. Color: Daisy White.
NewStyle® Hybrid Shutters
Hunter Douglas NewStyle® Hybrid Shutters provide power energy-savings at an affordable price. They look like they are made of wood, but are actually constructed of strong modern-day materials that will stay straight and stand the test of time.
Hunter Douglas NewStyle®Hybrid Shutters. Fabric/Material: Hybrid. Color: Parchment. Mount Type: Outside.
Palm Beach™Polysatin™Shutters
If you love the look of shutters and want to maximize your home’s energy savings, Hunter Douglas’ Palm Beach™ Polysatin™ Shuttersare a fantastic choice. These shutters provide excellent UV protection thanks to the toughness of their Polysatin compound, and can keep your home cooler on hot and humid days.
Hunter Douglas guarantees the Polysatin™ shutters will never fade, warp, crack, chip, discolor or peel, even if they are exposed to extreme heat or moisture.
Unlike NewStyle® Hybrid Shutters, Palm Beach™ Polysatin™ shutters can be operated by Hunter Douglas’ PowerView®Motorization, which responds to voice command as well as remote control, phone or tablet control. The shutters can be operated by hand or scheduled to tilt open to let light in throughout the day, and tilt closed for privacy as the sun sets.
Hunter Douglas Palm Beach™ Shutters. Fabric/Material: Polysatin™. Color: White. Opacity: Opaque. Mount Type: Inside.
Multiply Savings with Motorization
For added energy-savings during the winter, leave all window treatments open during the warm hours of the day to absorb the sun’s heat rather than block it, and close all windows on a cloudy day and at night to maintain warmer temperatures inside.
For optimal energy-savings in summer, close window treatment veins during the times of day when they are hit by direct sunlight.
The good news is that these energy-saving hacks are practically effortless to maintain with the help of motorized operating systems set on an automated open/close schedule!
Hunter Douglas’ PowerView® Motorizationis a battery-powered wifi-connected operating system which enables home owners to open and close their window treatments by phone, tablet, remote control or voice command.
During winter, you can easily set the hands-free automation feature to open your window treatments during times of the day that are typically the most sunny, and close the window treatments as the sun sets. If you notice the day is cloudy, activate a “close windows” setting from your phone wherever you are located.
During summer, you could schedule only windows hit by direct sunlight to close during the hours of impact.
Automated open/close schedules will also increase the chances that your family takes advantage of natural light instead of flipping on a light switch, which will result in added energy savings!
PowerView® Motorization is available with many different window treatment styles, including Palm Beach™ featured in this article.
Learn More:
The Complete List of Window Treatments Compatible with Hunter Douglas’ PowerView® Motorization
10 Ways Motorized Shades Make Life Easier
Hunter Douglas Palm Beach™Shutters. Fabric/Material: Polysatin™. Color: Bright White. Operating System: PowerView®Motorization.
Windows connect us with the outdoors, allow fresh air and natural light in our home and even help control uncomfortable temperatures, but they can also increase the energy bill. Embrace all that windows have to offer while adding extra protection with the help of energy-saving window treatments today!
JC Licht’s window treatment experts are offering a FREE at-home consultation to help you find the perfect energy-saving window treatments for your home.
Energy efficiency is just one of the11 considerationswe recommend all homeowners makes before buying window treatments. Learn about thethree ways energy efficient window treatments can save you money.
