My windows have horizontal mini blinds as well as curtains
with valence boxes. The windows have two layer of glass.

On a cold night, what's a good way to reduce heat loss through
the windows? Do the blinds make much difference?

In summer it can pay to reflect sunlight hitting east and west
windows. Vinyl blinds let some light through and probably
absorb some. Is there a better way to reduce solar heating
through windows?

"Sawney Beane" wrote in message


On a cold night, what's a good way to reduce heat loss through
the windows? Do the blinds make much difference?

Everything helps, but heavy drapes will do more than the blinds.



In summer it can pay to reflect sunlight hitting east and west
windows. Vinyl blinds let some light through and probably
absorb some. Is there a better way to reduce solar heating
through windows?

In the winter you want to let that sun come in as much as possible. Thee
are coatings that will help in the summer though.

Sawney Beane wrote:
My windows have horizontal mini blinds as well as curtains
with valence boxes. The windows have two layer of glass.

On a cold night, what's a good way to reduce heat loss through
the windows? Do the blinds make much difference?

Neither my nets nor my blinds do anything for heat. My biggest mistake was
taking down my beautiful full length wall to wall curtaining that had
separate thermal linings and replacing with the more modern lightweight
ones. My house used to be SO cosy. Then come summer off would come the
linings for a lighter look.

In summer it can pay to reflect sunlight hitting east and west
windows. Vinyl blinds let some light through and probably
absorb some. Is there a better way to reduce solar heating
through windows?
You could try black out curtains. They can be especially handy when you
wish to have an afternoon nap and don't want heat and light in the room.
They can also stop people peeping in at you when you're about your everyday
business. HTHs Mr Beane.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

"Sawney Beane" wrote in message


On a cold night, what's a good way to reduce heat loss through
the windows? Do the blinds make much difference?

Everything helps, but heavy drapes will do more than the blinds.

If you can stop convection, that's probably like adding R-1.
One winter in Vermont, relatives warped their wood stove
running it red hot, but they were still miserably cold. The
problem was their single-pane picture window. We sewed a
curtain of bedsheets, stretched it across the window each
night, and secured it with thumb tacks. The cabin was much
more comfortable and the stove could be run low.

I don't know if heavy drapes would have worked as well. They
don't necessarily stop convection.

A reflective surface can make an airspace with an R value much
higher than 1. I have fixed windows for winter by gluing
foil-faced kraft paper across them, but you can't look out
until spring. I've also made curtains of printed bedsheets
with space-blanket backings. As I recall, I used rubber bands
in buttonholes to stretch the curtains tight across the window
ledge at night, to stop convection. Rooms with those curtains
were much warmer than winter than rooms with other curtains.

I was looking for more tips on efficient curtains, blinds, and shades.



In summer it can pay to reflect sunlight hitting east and west
windows. Vinyl blinds let some light through and probably
absorb some. Is there a better way to reduce solar heating
through windows?

In the winter you want to let that sun come in as much as possible. Thee
are coatings that will help in the summer though.

Generally, it's the south windows that get solar heat in
winter. The sun that shines from east and west is low and
southerly, so those windows don't pick up much.

In summer, the sun is higher and spends a lot of time on the
east and west, so those windows can pick up a lot of heat.
The summer sun may be too high for much of its heat to shine
through the south windows. So I'd come out ahead if I could
make my east and west windows reflect more sunlight, but not
my south windows.

Some reflective coatings can also reduce radiant losses at
night. I wish I knew more about it.

Mrs Bonk wrote:

Sawney Beane wrote:
My windows have horizontal mini blinds as well as curtains
with valence boxes. The windows have two layer of glass.

On a cold night, what's a good way to reduce heat loss through
the windows? Do the blinds make much difference?

Neither my nets nor my blinds do anything for heat. My biggest mistake was
taking down my beautiful full length wall to wall curtaining that had
separate thermal linings and replacing with the more modern lightweight
ones. My house used to be SO cosy. Then come summer off would come the
linings for a lighter look.

Why don't you put them back up? One never knows when one may
want privacy.

In summer it can pay to reflect sunlight hitting east and west
windows. Vinyl blinds let some light through and probably
absorb some. Is there a better way to reduce solar heating
through windows?
You could try black out curtains. They can be especially handy when you
wish to have an afternoon nap and don't want heat and light in the room.

What color are blackout curtains on the street side?

They can also stop people peeping in at you when you're about your everyday
business. HTHs Mr Beane.

Unlike blackout curtains, blinds can be adjusted to let light
in while keeping the indoors obscure from outside. That's why
they call them blinds.

Speaking of peeping, did you find Eliot Coweye's post
distasteful? Do you think he was trolling me?

"Sawney Beane" wrote in message
...
What color are blackout curtains on the street side?


Blackout lining for draperies is white.

Thermal suede offer almost the same benefit without the disadvantage of
every pin hole showing.

Cellular shades have up to R 3. Curtains with insulating liners help,
liners are sold separatly. 1" R7.2" foamboard popped in at night is easy
to do. Dont leave it in when the sun is out, I painted one dark and it
cracked the glass. Paint the foamboard with latex and store when not
used.

Sawney Beane wrote:
Mrs Bonk wrote:

Sawney Beane wrote:
My windows have horizontal mini blinds as well as curtains
with valence boxes. The windows have two layer of glass.

On a cold night, what's a good way to reduce heat loss through
the windows? Do the blinds make much difference?

Neither my nets nor my blinds do anything for heat. My biggest mistake
was taking down my beautiful full length wall to wall curtaining that had
separate thermal linings and replacing with the more modern lightweight
ones. My house used to be SO cosy. Then come summer off would come the
linings for a lighter look.

Why don't you put them back up? One never knows when one may
want privacy.

They had their day. Nothing lasts forever, or maybe some things do but not
my curtains


In summer it can pay to reflect sunlight hitting east and west
windows. Vinyl blinds let some light through and probably
absorb some. Is there a better way to reduce solar heating
through windows?
You could try black out curtains. They can be especially handy when you
wish to have an afternoon nap and don't want heat and light in the room.

What color are blackout curtains on the street side?

That depends on what type of black out curtains you use.

They can also stop people peeping in at you when you're about your
everyday business. HTHs Mr Beane.

Unlike blackout curtains, blinds can be adjusted to let light
in while keeping the indoors obscure from outside. That's why
they call them blinds.
I like nets.One can pick up good tips in AHC for keeping nets nicely washed
and sparkling and people can't look in as they pass.


Speaking of peeping, did you find Eliot Coweye's post
distasteful? Do you think he was trolling me?

who? Are you quite mad?

Sawney Beane wrote:
My windows have horizontal mini blinds as well as curtains
with valence boxes. The windows have two layer of glass.

On a cold night, what's a good way to reduce heat loss through
the windows? Do the blinds make much difference?

In summer it can pay to reflect sunlight hitting east and west
windows. Vinyl blinds let some light through and probably
absorb some. Is there a better way to reduce solar heating
through windows?


My multi cellular blinds insulate well enough to ice up my low e 3/4
inch space thermopane windows on very cold days.

At night on clear nights anything covering the windows will slow the
tranfer of heat from your body to pluto.

yourname wrote:

Sawney Beane wrote:
My windows have horizontal mini blinds as well as curtains
with valence boxes. The windows have two layer of glass.

On a cold night, what's a good way to reduce heat loss through
the windows? Do the blinds make much difference?

In summer it can pay to reflect sunlight hitting east and west
windows. Vinyl blinds let some light through and probably
absorb some. Is there a better way to reduce solar heating
through windows?

My multi cellular blinds insulate well enough to ice up my low e 3/4
inch space thermopane windows on very cold days.

At night on clear nights anything covering the windows will slow the
tranfer of heat from your body to pluto.


Cellular blinds... it looks interesting. I'll have to look
for information on how they stand up to sunlight and repeated
raising and lowering.

Mrs Bonk wrote:

Sawney Beane wrote:

Speaking of peeping, did you find Eliot Coweye's post
distasteful? Do you think he was trolling me?

who? Are you quite mad?

Not quite. Thanks for helping me calm down. Trolls love to
make people mad.

m Ransley wrote:

Cellular shades have up to R 3. Curtains with insulating liners help,
liners are sold separatly. 1" R7.2" foamboard popped in at night is easy
to do. Dont leave it in when the sun is out, I painted one dark and it
cracked the glass. Paint the foamboard with latex and store when not
used.

I remember using foil-covered foamboard on windows.

That reminds me: some of my windows have internal screens that
are easy to pop in and out. If I fastened foil-faced kraft
paper to the glass side of a screen, that would give me an air
space with an R value of about 3.2.