Did You Get Your Utility Bill? Window Coverings May Help!

My Gosh! Were you as surprised as we were when we opened our utility bill for last month? Wow, our energy bill had gone up 43% from the month before. Yes, it was Christmas and we did have a few low voltage lights in the trees outside in our front yard but the natural gas was the real culprit.

Just trying to keep our house warm was the real issue, especially with the high price of gas and other fuels today.

This high bill made us begin to think of what we could do to try and keep our bills down. The obvious is to wear more sweatshirts in the house and to turn off the lights when we leave a room. The other things we could do is to check the weather stripping around our doors and windows, which we did; and to turn down the water heater temperature. Probably the next best thing that we could do was to look at the energy loss we were experiencing from several windows that we had chosen not to cover because we wanted to maintain the views from these windows. What a mistake! Now they are covered with Silhouette shades and what a difference - the rooms are about 10 degrees warmer, no kidding! And, the views will not be lost as the shades disappear almost completely when they are raised into their headrails.

Window coverings cut heat loss in winter and increase your home's cozy comfort as they slow the escape of warm air. It is a proven scientific fact that heat gravitates towards cold and when a window is not covered the glass is always cold and the heat just disappears. This creates a huge loss in warmth from your room. Window treatments act as insulation, covering the glass to keep warm air inside. Window coverings also cut infiltration of solar heat, the single largest contributor to the workload of your home's cooling system in the summer. By putting the best window coverings on your window you will save money on utilities and save the natural resources used to generate energy. On top of all these benefits you save your interior fabrics, furnishings and woods from fading and deterioration.

Visit www.hunterdouglas.com for their listing of test results for their fine window covering products. R-values range from 2.01 to around 7.0. Oh, and you still have time to purchase Architella Duette, honeycomb style shades with the factory rebate now underway, see my previous entry on this blog with all the details. Visit us at our shop and we will be happy to show you all of their fine products or visit our website at www.drapesandmore.com.