How Window Treatments Can Help Control Drafts

Drafts not only affect your indoor comfort, but they also make it harder for your home's heater and air conditioner to control the indoor temperature. A bad draft can make a room or even your entire house extremely uncomfortable, and can also significantly raise your energy bills. While weatherstripping and caulking windows can be helpful in controlling drafts, window treatments are another important step to take to reduce a draft—especially if you have older windows. Fortunately, replacing your window treatments is easy, and it can improve the style of your home as well. To find out more about how window treatments in Chicago can help you control drafts in your home, read this article.

Material and Design

Shades with a honeycomb or cellular design are excellent at trapping cold air near windows. The more cells there are, the more air will be trapped. But because cellular shades are more opaque, they don't let in much light. In general, the thicker the window treatment material, the more effective it is at blocking sunlight and controlling drafts.

Inside Placement

Installing shades or blinds inside the window casing is the best way to cut down on drafts. Mounting window treatments on the outside is less effective, but it's important to make sure that they cover the entire casing. Ideally, you will have inside-mounted window treatments that are about a half-inch from the windowpane. To trap cold air as effectively as possible, the window treatments should fit snugly.

Use Layers

Combining window treatments will both cut down on drafts and greatly reduce solar heat gain. Fortunately, shades, sheers, and curtains combine easily to form an attractive and energy-efficient window treatment ensemble. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that close-fitting drapes paired with a cornice can reduce airflow near the windows by as much as 25 percent.