How Can I Save Even More Money with Blinds? 7 Tips on Additional Energy Efficiency

Blinds can bring real energy efficiency and cost savings to your home and budget. But, what are some ways to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck with the most efficient blinds? Here’s a few add-ons to really capitalize on your blinds!

1. Reflective Coatings and Backings

   Have you ever seen tinfoil in someone’s window? This is an inexpensive way of keeping sunlight and the resultant heat out. High end blinds can be installed that have this same reflecting technique applied to the blinds. By reducing the amount of sunlight entering a room, you can drastically lower the temperature and keep it cooler during the summer!

2. Blackout Linings

   While not as big of difference maker, blackout blinds are designed to block out all light from entering a room in the same way as blackout curtains. While preventing all light from entering a room during the day may be a bit excessive, this does help reduce solar heat during summer months more than a thin, sheer blind would reduce and may be an option for some.

3. Cellular Designs

   Cellular blinds are made with a honeycomb design. This creates pockets of air that insulate your windows. These pockets of air are extremely effective at keeping warm air in during the winter and cold air in during the summer. Essentially, they help provide a median air point where the air inside your home and the air outside your home merge and neutralize each other to prevent extremes from passing each other.

4. Double-Layers

   Double-layer designs feature two layers of fabric that can be adjusted independently. The front layer controls light and privacy, while the back layer can be adjusted to help control insulation. These can be more complicated to control than just one adjustment string if simplicity is a determining factor.

5. Solar Linings

   Solar blinds are specifically designed to block out sunlight and heat, while still allowing varying degrees of natural light to make its way into your home. This option is the perfect choice for those wanting the energy savings of blinds without compromising on getting natural light.

6. Insulated Linings

   While you can purchase insulated blinds which are heavy duty for extreme weather, you can also get inserts and liners that can be added to your current blinds. Any additional layer of insulation can bring that much extra in energy savings back to you.

7. Automated and Motorized Systems

   For those who like technology and smart systems, you can install programmable blinds that will either automatically adjust based on the time of day, the temperature, and even weather, or that will adjust according to your preset settings. This can help remove any questions and stress you may have about when you should or should not adjust your blinds and just let them work automatically without any manual adjustment from you.

Blinds can be such a valuable addition to your home! These upgrades can make them even more valuable to you and deliver greater energy efficiency. While the addition of any one of these add-on options for your blinds can be easy to find, it can be difficult to find multiple of these add-ons on a single set of blinds as well as pricey. It’s much better to understand which feature would be the most beneficial to you in your specific situation.

If you have questions about what would be best for your home, your local energy company might have some recommendations on the best kind of energy efficient blinds for your area!