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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Australians have been spending more time in their homes than ever before. As such, being able to control your home's heating naturally rather than relying on active heating is becoming increasingly important, both as a way of saving money and making the home as comfortable as possible a year round.
In doing so, your window coverings play a very important role. In fact, a huge 30% of your home's temperature is lost through uncovered windows1.
Here's how this works. During cold months, a home will lose much of its 'radiant' heat (produced by people and objects) through the cold window glass. When people in the home are producing more radiant heat than they're receiving through the glass, it can feel like a chilly draft – even if a window is tightly sealed. This is when people will typically turn on up the heater, consuming energy resources and adding utility costs.
However, by making some smart choices, you can help prevent this situation from happening, and start to save money this winter – better for you and the planet!
To do so, it's important to:
While Luxaflex window coverings are all designed with energy efficiency and thermal control in mind, our Luxaflex® Duette® Shades are very much a market leader in this area.
These shades have a unique honeycomb 'cell' structure that traps air and acts as an insulation barrier for windows. In fact, these smart air pockets can reduce the heat transfer through a window and reduce the average home's heating costs by up to 43% in winter2.
Watch Neale Whitaker talking the heating and cooling benefits of these shades here.
Luxaflex PolySatin® Plantation Shutters are another energy efficient option. As they are fully adjustable, you can fully control the solar energy entering your windows and doors. The unique cellular construction of these shutters also creates a layer of energy-saving insulation as it traps air within a distinct pocket. Coupled with polyresin's low conductivity, they greatly reduce heat exchange. PolySatin Shutters reflect inbound solar rays back to the outside during summer, but can be opened to allow the warming sun into your home in winter so as to reduce air-conditioning costs.
The Luxaflex® Duette® Architella® range also features a unique cell-within-a-cell honeycomb construction which creates four fabric layers and three insulating pockets of air. These smart air pockets can actually reduce the heat transfer through a window and reduce the home's heating costs overall.
One of the smartest and easiest ways to keep your home warmer in winter is to open or close your window coverings at the right time of day. This means keeping your window coverings open during the day, and allowing the sun to naturally heat up the interior spaces, and then closing blinds, shutters or curtains as soon as the sun starts to fade. This will help capture some radiant heat in your internal spaces.
To make this process easy, Luxaflex® offers a range of options when it comes to the operation of your blinds, shutters or awnings. With PowerView® Motorisation, your shades can be opened or closed with the touch of a button – even those on the exterior of your home. You can use either Luxaflex® Pebble remote to do this, or an app on your own smartphone or device. You can even set timers – so your blinds open at a certain time in the morning, or close at a specific time in the evening. Plus, smart controls let you program your window coverings around the movement of the sun.
You can watch Neale Whitaker talking about the possibilities with PowerView® Motorisation here.
Interested in finding more about Luxaflex custom window coverings?
1 Based on information from NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System). Visit www.nabers.com.au for more information.
2 Savings are based on the installation of fully-recessed, reveal-mounted Luxaflex® Duette® Architella® Shades with 20mm blockout fabric in an average home in Sydney, compared with the House Energy Rating standard of Holland Blinds from AccuRate, in that home. These calculations have been modelled by an independent third party. Savings will vary based on the window type and installation.
