Beat the Heat with Blackout Curtains
As much of the US endures record temperatures, it seems an appropriate time to remind our customers of an important benefit of curtains – maintaining the interior temperatures in homes and offices. Direct sunlight shining through windows can drastically increase the temperature of a room. By utilizing blackout curtains at certain times of the day to block out direct sunlight can help to insulate the room and reduce the resulting heat increase. This helps to improve the comfort level of the room, as well as save money by reducing your air conditioning costs and energy consumption.
We are admittedly biased on the topic of using curtain tracks, but this highlights an advantage of using curtain tracks instead of curtain rods when it comes to the use of insulated blackout curtains. Because you are more likely to open and close your curtains multiple times per day to combat direct sunlight and the resulting increased temperature, ease of motion of the curtains is important. Curtain tracks offer both increased ease of movement for the curtains, as well as a wider range of motion for the curtains. Because the carriers or glides move freely within the tracks, we believe that the curtain tracks are a superior option to most curtain rods.
As you consider what curtains to hang from curtain tracks to best combat the heat and reduce your cooling bill, you may want to pay particular attention to your fabric selection. One option is to use a light blocking fabric like Eclipse, that blocks 98% of the light with a single layer of fabric (no backing required). This fabric is attractive and allows the curtains to be lighter weight without sacrificing the benefit of black out curtains. Your other option is to use any fabric for the curtains and add a blackout lining that will provide the same functionality. This significantly increases the range of designs available for your blackout curtains. Regardless of either choice, you will benefit from cooler room temperatures by using the blackout curtains.
An ancillary benefit of using blackout curtains to block direct sunlight and reduce cooling costs is that these curtains can also offer noise reduction as well. The curtains dampen sound and can make your home or office more peaceful. Another more obvious benefit of the blackout curtains is the increased privacy you can be afforded by drawing the blackout curtains. Blackout curtains can also be useful in media rooms where light can impede the appearance of media or video screens. With a quick pull of the curtain wand, your curtains can be opened or closed to quickly adjust your environment. Cooler and quieter, with the privacy you deserve and primo visibility of your computer or television monitor . Not a bad combination, and it starts with the curtain tracks.
Let us know if we can be of assistance.
