Changing window coverings can help you change the look of your home, but can they also help lower your heating costs? Many people do not realize that the curtains and blinds that they put on their windows can actually help them heat their home more efficiently. If you are serious about making your home more energy efficient you may want to think about more than just looks next time you go shopping for window coverings.

How window coverings can help

While curtains and blinds are not as effective at lowering heating costs as good quality windows can the fact is that the right choice can help offset your energy usage. This is because some types of window coverings can actually work to form a dead air space that traps heat and prevents it from escaping through windows. When used in conjunction with double-glazed windows a home’s energy usage can be substantially lowered.

They work by forming an additional layer between your home’s interior and its exterior. If less heat is able to reach the windows, less is available to be lost through glass. This, in turn, means that your home will not be as hard to keep warm as it would if the heat were allowed to simply escape unchecked.

What you should look for

If you are interested in purchasing window coverings that can help insulate your home you need to look carefully. There are blinds and shades that are structured like a honeycomb and which trap air. This trapped air provides the insulation your home needs to stay warm more easily. If you do not like blinds you may want to consider drapes that are made up of multiple layers that trap air. These will often be made up of a liner and a top layer. The air will be trapped between these two layers and will often provide the insulation you are looking for.

Window coverings to avoid

There are many types of window coverings that will not help insulate your home. Lacy drapes and those with single layers will not be able to trap the air and therefore will not be able to help prevent heat loss. Look for information on the labels that specifically state that a window covering is designed to insulate a home. This can be the first sign that you are on the right track and that blinds or drapes will be able to do what you need them to.