When you first buy a house, you might not be considering the impact of the windows. The windows are an integral part of any house, whether you have five or 37. And whether they have blinds, drapes, or another addition to them can have a big impact on your lifestyle.
One important way that a window can affect the way you live is through how much heat escapes through it. A study from the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that you can lose approximately one-third of your home’s heat between your door and windows. By adding attachments such as motorized window blinds, you can improve this energy efficiency and save approximately 13% of that heating and energy use.
A lot of this has to do with how open your window is. If you have no attachments with it, then the window has no way to keep heat in or out of your home. However, if you have an attachment such as a drape covering your window in the winter, then you reduce your heat loss by approximately 10%. This is because it is harder for the heat to move when your window is obscured. The same goes for motorized blinds, which allow you to easily adjust your window to maximize the amount of heat entering or leaving your home.
There is an old wive’s tale that the way you choose to close your blinds affects the home as well. If you close them facing up, then it heats the keep out. And if you close them facing down, then the opposite is true. Regardless of whether this is true, you never have to worry about going around and having to close all of your blinds by hand if you choose to get motorized window shades or blinds.
It also allows you to adjust them throughout the day as you see fit. If your pet wants to look out the window, leave them open for an hour or two. If you feel like curling up with a good book but don’t care for the glare coming from the opposite side of the room, you can easily close them again.
This one small addition to your home might end up making your life easier in a variety of ways. Not only because it could keep your house from getting too hot or too cold, but it could save you money at the same time. Your energy bill may go down with this simple adjustment and make it easier on you.