Houses and buildings are nearly universal in one particular aspect: the presence of windows. Windows allow cool or warm air into the home if so desired, and window also afford a few outside. But windows will not always be wide open; often, windows will be closed, and if a window is faulty or if it does not have draperies, custom shades, or blinds, it may not be energy-efficient. A drafty, old, or bare window can actually be a liability for a house, and a bare window is not attractive to look at anyway. Thus, window treatments such as draperies, aluminum blinds, custom window shutters, and more are a good idea for any homeowner to invest in, and different homeowners may have varying need for window treatments. Such treatments like draperies can be functional, decorative, or even both, and there are many advantages to installing them. What might draperies or custom shutters do for a window and the home?
Electricity Savings
Newer homeowners might be surprised to learn that windows play a central role in the electric bill. But windows do not use electricity. What role do they play, then? They are a major part of a home’s climate control, or its use of heaters and air conditioners to regulate a home’s interior temperature. Even in the best of conditions, an HVAC system will use nearly 54% of all electricity that a house consumes, and if the climate control is unstable, then a heater or air conditioner may end up being overworked to compensate, and this will quickly drive up the electric bill. Sometimes, the heater or air conditioner is the problem, and a clogged air conditioner will struggle to put out as much air as it is supposed to, such as if the blower fans are caked with grime or if the ducts have squirrel nests built in them. Impeded air flow means that the system will work overtime to compensate, and this uses up a lot of extra power. Or the heater or air conditioner may be damaged.
The rest of the home might be the culprit of unstable climate control, such as thin or missing insulation in the walls or the attic, which allows warm air to leak in winter or cool air to escape during summer and spring. Windows are also a liability here; drafty, old windows rapidly leak warm or cool air, disrupting climate control and overworking the HVAC system. And a bare window can easily leak warmth or cool air even without drafts, meaning that a bare window is a drain on electricity.
The solution is, aside from replacing drafty windows, to get window treatments such as draperies or blinds installed. Drapes, for example, are not only attractive and add personality to a room, but when drawn shut, they will keep warm air in during winter, saving a lot of electricity on the heater. A homeowner should take care, however, so that a set of drapes is not exposed to open flames or other fire hazards such as exposed electric wires, or an electric fire may be ignited. Similarly, blinds and screens may keep out hot sunlight in summer or spring, and this can also ease the strain on the air conditioner. Sunlight is warm, and too much of it will warm up a house and overwork the air conditioner. Such screens or blinds can even be motorized and controlled with a remote, which is convenient for very large windows or if the homeowner is physically disabled and cannot handle normal screens or blinds. A person can install motorized blind themselves, or have work men help with this.
Screens, blinds, draperies, and more are not only attractive for a room, but they also create privacy. Burglars or strangers can look inside a house and view everything and everyone through exposed windows, which at best makes a homeowner uncomfortable and at worst can clearly inform burglars on where to strike. Any room, especially one with valuable items like jewelry or electronics, should have blind or screens installed and drawn whenever necessary to block strangers’ view into the home. This can be especially useful when the homeowner is asleep or when they are out of the house.