Energy efficiency

With this in mind, smart window furnishings not only help with temperature, but they also help in keeping the bills down too.

If you’re fortunate to be building a new home, with it will come ecological glass, or perhaps double glazing for your windows. This is a great start to for an energy-efficient home; it doesn’t start and finish there, however. Regardless of how eco-friendly the glass is of your windows, having efficient window treatments, will work in conjunction in keeping the weather at bay and keeping you at the right temperature inside your home.

For owners of older homes, you will appreciate that the thickness of your windows glass is not so great. Draughts leak in through windows and doors everywhere. If the cold is coming in, you can be guaranteed that the heat is leaking out, with the reverse happening in Summer.

How do we work with the weather? We’re not all in a position where we can move our house to be facing north in the winter and the south in the summer. We have to work with what we have. Let’s start with the outside. Awnings. They don’t have to be the lovely mission brown and green stripes of the 60’s; we’ve moved on from those fashions (athough they are still available!). Today we work mainly with PVC mesh – available in plain colours – but if you desire there are stripes too!

Awnings are the most efficient window dressing for the summer – hands down! The can reduce the inside temperature by up to 10 degrees. Awnings are there to prevent the sun and heat from hitting the house. Keeping the house cool, there’s little need to have the cooler on for long periods. Keeping the house cool for the majority of the day whilst we’re out – at school, work or play – the house is cooler meaning that when we do come home, the air con doesn’t need to work as hard or as long to get the house to a comfortable temperature.

Awnings are investment for the long term. Once you’ve had them installed, you’ll wonder why you suffered for so many summers without them. You’ll also be pleasantly surprised with how little you need to use your cooler – therefore reducing your cooling costs.

Looking from the inside, Winter here in Bendigo is bitter and so to keep the cold out, smart window dressings will keep you lovely and warm. Whilst your newly appointed windows are eco-friendly, the cold can still penetrate through the glass and aluminium surrounds. How we hug a window determines how much cold we can keep out.

Your favourite jumper; it’s warm and cosy, right? That’s how your window treatments need to function. There are a couple of applications that work efficiently from the inside. These can be our custom made block-out lined drapes, or perhaps our custom made to measure honeycomb blinds if you’re after the simple look.

Our custom drapes, as I’ve spoken of before, will not only add personality to a room, softness and depth, but also offer protection from the elements. Installed beyond a window or sliding door left and right, will ensure that the curtains pull back away from the window, to maximise the light during the day. At night in the winter – the drapes hug the window, preventing draughts from getting in. During the summer they prevent the heat from dropping in. Installed taller than your window, this adds further protection from the weather – it’s just like adding a scarf to your woolly jumper!

If you’re not the drape house, then our honeycomb blinds are the next best thing. Simple, minimal but amazingly efficient. Available as block-out (perfect for bedrooms or for rooms that cop the westerly sun) or as translucent to filter the light so as not to feel like you’re in a den (perfect for family and living rooms), the honeycombs have proven to be efficient in keeping the heat and cold at bay. Honeycombs too can be dressed up with a lightweight sheer curtain to add a delicate and elegant touch to your room.

How well a window is dressed really does determine how energy efficient your home is. The evidence will be in your next power bill!

Book a consultation with us today and we can talk about how to make your home more energy efficient.