Keeping Warm With Window Treatments

Window treatments and coverings aren’t just for decoration—they can also go a long way in saving energy. Some carefully selected window treatments, such as draperies and insulating panels, can keep heat from escaping through window panes in winter.
 
A drapery’s ability to reduce heat loss and gain depends on several factors, including fabric type and color. Although it’s difficult to generalize about energy performance, when drawn during cold weather most conventional draperies can reduce heat loss from a warm room up to 10 percent. In winter, you should keep draperies that don’t receive direct sunlight closed during the day, and close all draperies at night.
 
Draperies should be hung as close to windows as possible to reduce heat exchange and should fall onto a windowsill or floor. For maximum effectiveness, install a cornice at the top of a drapery, or place the drapery against the ceiling. Then seal the drapery at both sides with Velcro or magnetic tape, and overlap it in the center. Such snug window treatments can reduce heat loss by up to 25 percent.
 
An inexpensive insulating window panel or pop-in shutter, typically made of a core of rigid foam insulation, also reduces heat loss. The panels are made so that their edges seal tightly against the window frame, and they can be pushed or clipped into the interior of a window. No hardware, such as hinges or latches, is required.
 
Of course, window treatments aren’t effective at reducing air leakage or infiltration—caulk and weather strip around windows to reduce drafts. Also, draperies work best for winter weather. Window blinds are more effective at reducing summer heat gain than winter heat loss.
 
For more information, visit
eere.energy.gov
Source: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy