HOW BLINDS CAN HELP KEEP HEAT INSIDE
With winter quickly approaching, the temperature is dropping, and buildings are becoming cooler. However, a huge proportion of the population feels reluctant to turn on the central heating in commercial and residential properties at the moment due to the energy crisis. Consequentially, a lot of people are now asking the same question; can blinds keep heat inside? You might be surprised by how effective blinds can be in helping to reduce your heating costs.
There is growing evidence to suggest that winters will continue getting colder. Homeowners are looking for new ways to reduce heat loss to control their escalating heating bills.
Energy crisis
Due to increased demand for energy post-COVID and the war in Ukraine, there’s currently a squeeze on the supply of gas in Europe, skyrocketing wholesale gas prices. Energy providers are now paying more for electricity and gas and are offsetting this by increasing the prices that businesses and individuals pay.
This winter, it will cost more than ever to keep workplaces, homes and other buildings warm. Many businesses are struggling to make ends meet during what’s now known as the “cost of doing business crisis”. An increase in prices is the only way some businesses can continue to operate, but such action threatens to reduce the number of customers willing to pay the higher prices.
The amount of heat that is lost from a building is determined firstly by its insulation, but various other factors contribute to the net heat loss experienced. Lost heat increases energy bills because more heating is needed to maintain an optimum temperature. Given that energy costs have never been higher, businesses will pay a huge amount of money to heat workplaces.
Do blinds prevent heat from escaping?
Businesses and homes around the country use blinds as their chosen shading and screening solution. A large amount of heat can be lost through windows, but blinds prevent some of this heat from escaping.
Blinds essentially create a barrier between the warm air inside and the cold air outside, reducing the amount of heat lost. The overall effectiveness of blinds preventing heat from escaping depends on the type of blind, its fabric and how it’s installed.
For instance, fitting a blind within a window recess will keep more heat in than if the blind was installed over the recess. If a blind is fitted over a recess, this creates a larger gap between the window and blind, allowing cold air to build up and heat to escape. The closer the blind is to the window, the more effective it’ll be in keeping heat inside.
Our recommendation
Our specialist #blackoutblindfabric provides an excellent layer of insulation in cold months, plus the added bonus of complete darkness. Any #rollerblind that features our blackout fabric will help keep heat inside a building.
Due to their design, our blackout units are likely to provide the highest level of insulation. The #blackoutblinds come with side channels, pile-seals in the head box and baffles in the side channels and bottom channel, ensuring no light or draught gets through the blackout blind when fully closed.
If you need thermal insulation without completely blocking out daylight, we recommend our #cassetterollerblinds with side channels. We can create a cassette blind featuring fabric with a higher light transmittance. The cassette blind’s side channels will help keep the warmth in the building. Blind side channels also ensure that the window can be opened in the summer without the wind causing the blind to smack around and make a distracting noise.
#plantationshutters are also extremely effective at keeping heat inside a room, The English Heritage conducted a study recently which revealed that #shutters provide over a 50% reduction in the amount of heat that seeps through windows.
Less effective blinds
We’ve established that blinds prevent heat from escaping, but some types provide small benefits and won’t reduce a company’s energy bills significantly. #Verticalblinds and #Venetianblinds have multiple gaps, which, even when closed, are not airtight. Heat can escape through the gaps between the slats, which is why we generally recommend blinds with a single, unbroken piece of fabric when it comes to thermal insulation for winter. #Venetianblinds are generally worse than #verticalblinds because they feature aluminium slats which are not good insulators.
Summary
#Blinds can keep heat inside and prevent cold air from entering the window. To maximise the efficacy of a blind in preventing heat from escaping, we recommend a thick fabric that is positioned as close to the windowpane as possible. Side channels can also help to stop a draught coming in and cooling a room, reducing the need for central heating. #Shutters are also have excellent thermal qualities and can really improve the energy efficiency in your home or workplace.
If you’d like to talk to an expert about which blinds and fabrics provide the most benefit during cold weather, please do get in touch; 01483 898228 or complete our contact form here
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