Cellular Shades for insulation?
Are Cellular Shades the best choice for insulation against the cold. I am sick of my huge energy bills. Might wooden shudders be better?
Are Cellular Shades the best choice for insulation against the cold. I am sick of my huge energy bills. Might wooden shudders be better?
I have Bali double-cell insulated shades on almost every window in my upstate house and I love them. They most definitely pay for themselves over the long term. Plus, they have the great top-down feature.
get an energy survey done by a guy with a thermal camera….
Is your attic insulated? That will cost your energy costs even more.
Wooden shutters arent going to do much. Cellular shades will help a bit but may not pay back the investment any time soon. Storm windows would be the way to go. Near-term you can get removable rope caulking or foam strips to seal up the windows and then do those clear plastic window insulation kits that you stretch to fit with a hair dryer. Ideally in the winter you want to let light in during the day to warm the house.
When we moved into the house we are now in, they had heavy drapes everywhere. They also had the old windows. we soon found out that these drapes did an excellent job of keeping the cold out and the noise from the bus line in front of the house. Drapes, with lining, will do it.
Steve
Hard to say. The R-value of cellular shades is quite good, but since they are not air-tight (unlike storm shades) there’s heat loss at the edges, which may be substantial. otoh, they do insulate against radiant heat loss. So I’d say they’re better than unshaded windows. Maybe old=fashioned heavy floor-length drapes might be better.
Anyone have definite info?