Here comes summer! Is your home ready for the Texas heat? Did you know that window treatments can do more than block the sun? There are many ways your home heats up during these warmer months, and today we are here to educate you about heat gain, heat transfer and introduce you to our favorite energy saving treatments. Let’s help keep your home cool this season.
The Problem: Heat Transfer
Most homeowners wouldn’t think of leaving their windows bare, but it’s not only about privacy. The real issue is that stuffy feeling you get from heat transfer. Sure, it’s nice to let the morning sun shine in, but beware, your home will heat up quickly from the effects of the powerful sun. Here are the 3 types of heat transfer to be aware of–and ways to protect your home against them.
Radiation: This heat is not felt in the air, but on the surface of an object. The issue is that there’s nowhere for the hot air to go. Imagine a sunbeam streaming into your home, you can touch it without it feeling warm, but the place it lands heats up quickly. These “hot spots” can result in exhausting temps even with the AC on, but pets still love them.
Convection: Moving air takes heat to the window on a hot day and away from the window on a cold day. Insulating properties can provide a proper barrier to protect the interior comfort of your home.
Conduction: Heat transfers through solid objects. For example: The glass of the window heats up on a hot day and transfers the heat to the interior. Insulation is key in this example as well.
Ways to Prevent Heat Gain
Let’s review. Heat gain is the result of heat transfer. Providing a barrier between the exterior air and the interior air will help. Window coverings help reduce radiant heat by preventing the sun from shining into the space at all. In the above photo, the floor to ceiling windows expose the entire room! As a result, every surface will heat up and before the homeowners realize it, the room will be intolerable. This room falls victim to all 3 types of heat transfer, and window treatments are a must. Observe the difference below.
THE Best Energy Saving Shades
Honeycomb Shades are a top choice because of their unique design. The pockets of air created inside the cellular structure of the shades establishes a barrier, trapping air. This keeps hot air out and cool air in. Honeycombs also stack neatly at the top of the window when raised.
Borrowing the same concept of cellular pockets, the Sonnette Cellular Roller Shades collection was born. These thermal shades offer a great barrier of protection, easily helping keep your home cool in the summer. Their roller shade operation is what sets them apart.
The original protector of privacy and sunshine are Draperies. They have a long-standing reputation for being a simple energy efficient option for windows. Depending on the amount of sunshine your home receives, you can customize the options for your draperies. Draperies can offer anything from lightweight fabrics to fabrics backed with a liner to provide more protection from the elements.
Next, the adjustable louvers of Plantation Shutters keep light from entering completely when they are in the closed position. When sunshine is blocked, there are no surfaces heating up. An added benefit to shutters is that when the louvers are set in a specific position (direction), light enters, but the direct light doesn’t come into contact with surfaces. Shutters offer a great barrier, framing in the window, and slowing air flow.
In addition, fabric Roman Shades act as a barrier to entering light. When roman shades are lowered, the fabric folds reduce the air flow. Air flow can raise temperatures in your home during the hot summer months, so reducing it will make it more comfortable inside.
Last, but definitely not least, Sheer Shades have a unique reflective quality facing the exterior of your home. Most of the time, they wouldn’t be thought of as a way to keep your home cool. But the sheer fabrics diffuse the direct light, also reflecting sunshine outside, reducing heat transfer. Even with the vanes open to the view, the difference of bare windows compared to covered is dramatic.
Keep Your Texas Home Cool
With the many reasons your home may heat up during the summer, the good news is that we can help you achieve a more comfortable home this summer by preventing heat transfer at the window with the best window treatments and window solutions in the industry. This is your year to save money in energy bills, and freshen up the look of your home with window treatments that offer fashion and function. We can help get you started with a FREE in home consultation. Get in touch with us today to set up a convenient time.
