In cooling seasons, about 76% of sunlight that falls on standard double-pane windows enters to become heat. Window coverings can help with this loss of energy by providing comfort, regulating temperatures, and lowering energy bills.
"Generally, when it is really hot outside it is a good idea to keep windows closed during the daytime, as you don't want the hot external air to come into the house warming it up," she explained. "However, after the sun goes down, the outside air will start to cool down.
Installing blackout blinds over your windows is a good way to prevent sun heat from getting in. Blackout blinds are opaque, so they don't let any light pass through. They are also available in a wide variety of colors and designs, so you can choose the right ones for your home.
Closed blinds serve to deflect the sun (and so, heat) before it gets into the room, which reduces unwanted solar gain and helps to keep your home cooler in turn.
Smart Home Cooling Tips. Close your blinds and curtains. Keeping your blinds closed during the day will reflect a surprising amount of heat radiating in through windows, especially during the time of day when the sun's rays shine directly on your home.
Close curtains and blinds
Something like 30% of unwanted heat comes in your windows so keeping curtains and blinds closed will help, especially during peak sunlight hours and on windows that face the sun. Some roller blinds are designed to let you see out while still blocking those rays.
Using Tin Foil Or Cardboard
Tinfoil, or aluminium foil, is a common and inexpensive way to blackout your window. It's a great option to go for as it's airtight and there's no way to see through it, so covering your window with tin foil is an effective way to achieve total darkness for easier sleeping during the day.
In terms of energy efficiency, both room darkening and blackout curtains can be beneficial with 100% blackout curtains providing the most energy savings. Because they block out all light, they can also block out heat, which can help to keep a room cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
Absolutely. Curtains reduce the amount of air exchange between a cold window and the rest of the room. For keeping heat inside the home, high-quality curtains can reduce heat loss by around 40%, particularly if they are floor length and close to the wall and window panes.
Windows magnify heat, so by using foil you're reflecting the sun off the window, sending it away from your home. 'Blocking your windows with tin foil will help to keep your rooms cooler in the heat as it reflects the heat back outside,' explains Adam Pawson, Head of Digital, Safestyle.
If you are in a pinch, bubble wrap is an excellent insulator for summer windows. Simply spray a light mist of water on your windows, and lay bubble wrap against them to act as another layer of glass. The bubble wrap will stick as long as you need, and it works to keep the hot out and the cold in.
Close and cover your windows during the day
The basic rule of thumb is that you should close your windows when the temperature outside starts to exceed the temperature inside. It may seem counterintuitive, but as the temperature climbs, you'll often make your home warmer, not cooler, by opening the windows.
Best Time for Open Windows
Researchers have found out that the best time to open the window and leave off the AC is when the outside temperature is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity levels are low. This keeps the room cool during the night, which ultimately saves money.
CONS: -May take up more space: Blackout curtains are hung from a curtain rod, so they may take up more space than blackout blinds. -Can be difficult to clean: Blackout curtains can be more difficult to clean than blackout blinds because they are typically made of a thicker, heavier material.
Black blinds make the room hot in summer because they hold onto the heat rather than allowing it to disperse as much as a lighter colour blind would. This in turn may raise the temperature of the room or stop it from dropping as fast as it otherwise would.
Like many other cooling tips we recommend, blackout curtains won't completely cool your home on their own. They should be used in conjunction with an efficient air conditioning system for the best results. The Department of Energy says that the use of curtains can reduce heat gain from windows by up to 77 percent!
Curtains & Drapes
Curtains and drapes will certainly block the UV rays when they are closed, but unfortunately, they also block the sunlight which some people enjoy, especially in sunrooms.
To get a total blackout in the bedroom using two blinds, you hang one of the blinds inside of the window recess as close to the glass as you can get it, and the other outside of or over the window recess, with the same 10cm or greater margins that I mentioned above.
These are probably the rooms that get little sun during the day. To help keep all rooms in your house cool, you can: close pale-coloured curtains. take care with metal blinds and dark curtains as they absorb heat - consider replacing them or putting reflective material in between them and the window.
For instance, choosing lighter curtains, voile or blinds in a lighter colour could help to reflect the sun's rays out of the room, so it's worth keeping these closed. If you have dark fabric curtains then it's probably best to keep them open, as dark colours will draw in the heat and could leave the room even warmer.
The clever use of blinds, curtains, and other window treatments can help keep your house cool and your bills in check. The Department of Energy says the smart management of window coverings can reduce heat gain by up to 77 percent.
If it's winter and likely to be sunny, open the window coverings in the morning to allow the sun to heat your home through the day—especially those that receive direct sunlight. In the summer, you may want to keep window coverings closed to reduce heat gain.