Winter blows cold through Jacksonville, and if it also blows cold through your living room, you need a way to stop it. Drafts come through walls, around doors and through windows. Windows with single panes and old window treatments can let cold air in, affecting the power of the heater to keep your Jacksonville home warm. Choosing to add insulating window treatments to your home can save you up to 50 percent on your energy costs.

You can fix the problem, even with a small budget, and the solution could eventually pay for itself in the energy savings. You have several options to consider, and all will help you save money on your electric bill while dressing up your windows. For an informed, free consultation, call an All About Blinds installer.

Prepare Your Windows                     

To begin you will need to caulk or weather-strip your windows. These will stop the wind from howling through the hallways. You will find both items at a home improvement store or discount department store at low cost. Weather stripping comes with an adhesive side to stick into place, while caulk comes in tubes you squeeze by hand or put into a special caulking gun. Once you have applied one of these, you can fix the energy sucking smaller drafts by choosing the insulating window treatment that works for your home and its decor.

Interior Blinds

Interior blinds have slats that you open and close using an attached wand. They raise and lower, as well, with cords. In the summer, the slats adjust to reflect sunlight on your light-colored ceiling, which disperses the heat without it raising the temperature inside.

While blinds work to deflect heat and allow ventilation, they do little to retain heat during the winter, unless paired with insulating draperies.

Blinds come in colors and styles to accent any room décor. You can choose from several materials, including cloth, wood, and aluminum. Interior blinds are made of attached slats that are angled either vertically or horizontally. Ask a Jacksonville blinds consultant about creating custom blinds for your home.

Honeycomb Shades

Also called pleated blinds, these shades work well to seal air between the shades and window. The pleated style gives a delicate look to windows while shielding the room from cold air and wind.

Hang the shades as close to the window’s surface as possible and seal both sides. Choose a two or three-cell pleat design with a white reflective side and a dark side for heat absorption for the best insulating results.

Using dual shades increases the dead air space for better insulation. In the winter, raise the shades on south facing windows during the day and close them at night.

Hardwood Shutters

Hardwood shutters offer the best weather protection for your home. Wood shutters constructed of American Hardwood insulate your home from heat and cold and are eco-friendly. They also come in many styles and colors with 1-3/4 to 5-1/4-inch slats and a choice of hardware.

Shutters mount inside the windowsill, which requires special hardware and space enough on each side of the window for opening. When closed, the shutters create a sealed, insulated dead air space that stops heat or cold conversions from entering your home.

Your Jacksonville blinds consultant will explain the advantages of eco-friendly hardwood styles during your free consultation.

Window Film

As you look forward to the warmer summer days, window film may be a good way to prepare your home to actually keep the heat out. Window film blocks heat gain by reflecting sunlight away from your home’s interior and works especially well on large, west-facing windows. The film comes in silver, mirror sheets, which prove most effective in stopping heat gain and protecting your furniture from sun damage.

A free in-home consultation with a Jacksonville blinds installer will ensure that your home receives the highest quality insulated window treatments available. You energy costs will drop year around and your window treatments will make your home beautiful.