With the warmer months approaching, it’s time to discuss how to keep your home cool. It’s important to understand how heat affects your home and how to stay ahead of it. We will go over how those concepts and what energy efficient window treatments we suggest will battle the heat the best.
Feeling the Heat: Heat Transfer
What is heat transfer? It’s what makes certain areas of your home feel warmer than others, especially during summer months. This is also the reason many homeowners choose to use window coverings. The benefits of having versatile options lets you enjoy the sun during a chilling morning, but ready to block the rays when things heat up. However, let’s understand the three basics types of heat transfer below.
Radiation:
Heat is not directly felt in the air. It will hit a surface, and that will heat up. When this happens indoors, there is nowhere for the hot air to go. Pets love to find these hot spots because they are cozy for nap time.
Convection:
Moving air will bring heat to a cool window on a hot day, and carry heat away on a cold day. Insulation will provide a proper barrier to keep the interior temperature where you want it, not letting exterior air affect the interior air. Because the interior has less movement than outside, it can seem stuffy during the warmest months.
Conduction:
Heat can be transferred through a solid object. This is something that will happen to a window on a hot day and then transfer that heat inside. Insulation in this type of heat transfer is also important.
Can Heat Gain Be Prevented?
Yes it can! And I bet you guessed how…with proper window coverings. Heat gain is the result of heat transfer. This is the uncomfortable warm temperatures that can be felt even with the AC on. By creating a barrier between the exterior and interior air, there is a drastic difference. Using the right window coverings, the sun can be stopped from shining into the space and reduce the radiant heat. The above photo shows the large, floor to ceiling windows letting sunshine extend throughout the room. This will make the surface areas, touched by the rays, heat up, and then cause the surrounding air to heat up as well.
What are the Best Energy Saving Shades?
Our top choice for energy saving shades are Honeycomb Shades. Air pockets inside these cellular structured shades will create a barrier to trap air. The outside hot air will be blocked from meddling with the interior air, keeping your home at your desired temperature.
Another top pick we suggest is Sonnette Cellular Roller Shades. These combine the cellular pocket concept with a roller shade operating feature. They help block out unwanted heat, but roll out of the way when not in use.
Draperies have long been recognized as an option to keep your home cool. They can be customized to better fit the amount of sunshine your home receives, using specific fabric weight or liners.
Plantation Shutters are a great barrier to letting light in, as well as reducing air flow. When their adjustable louvers are closed, they beat the heat. When they are slightly opened light can enter, but they can be adjusted to not have any direct contact with the surfaces so they don’t have the chance to warm up their surroundings.
Roman Shades are also a good barrier. When they are lowered, the fabric folds act as insulation to reduce heat transfer. This slows down the effect of warming the interiors.
Sheer Shades possess a reflective quality. The fabric reduces direct light, and then the heat transfer is reduced. This is done by the sheer fabrics reflecting the sun back outside.
Keep Your Home Cool Today
It’s important to keep your home cool in the summer, but also comfortable all year round. Talk to one of our window covering professionals at California Window Fashions to get started today. We want you living in comfort and style. Schedule your free in home design consultation before things heat up!
