Many people live in poorly insulated homes.
As such, they spend a lot on energy bills every winter.
There are a few methods to combat this at little cost.
Learn whether to open or close your curtains during winter in this guide.
So, Should You Keep Blinds and Curtains Closed During Winter?
You should open and close your blinds and curtains at different times during the colder months. Closing curtains can reduce heat loss to a certain degree. As such, many people tend to close their window coverings all through the colder months. However, keeping them closed during the day isn’t advised. Besides needing fresh air, you also need natural light, even if it’s a little to illuminate your rooms. Therefore, only close them at night and leave them open in the daytime.
Why is Closing Your Curtains at Night Helpful?
More radiant energy penetrates through the windows during the day.
Therefore, allowing sunlight to pass through the glass.
However, the window remains opaque to infrared radiation and doesn’t let it escape.
Closing your curtains and lowering your blinds immediately after dusk can help prevent heat loss.
These window coverings provide an additional barrier that prevents heat loss and insulates your home while reducing draughts.
They can raise the internal room temperature by a significant percentage and keep the room warm.
Do Blinds Keep Cold Out?
Many people use blinds to block sunlight, privacy, and decorative purposes. However, these window coverings can also insulate your home against extreme temperatures.
During winter, you can reduce your energy bills by using blinds to retain heat in your home. So how do blinds help with that?
To answer that, we must first explain how your home loses heat.
During cold months, homeowners keep their heat running all day and night.
When the house gets warm, some people will turn off the heating.
However, the generated heat can escape from the house via the windows, doors, walls, and roofs. In fact, windows are responsible for most of the heat loss.
Blinds are an effective strategy to prevent you from losing heat.
With the right size, fabric, and fitting, your blinds will act as a seal to your windows.
Thus, preventing air from escaping inside your house. As a result, the inside of your house will remain warm while the outside is cold.
It’s worth noting that while blinds can keep your house warm, you need to have the right type for the job.
Blinds are made from wooden, metallic slats, plastic, and fabric. The best blinds to keep cold out are ones made of fabric.
The slats are suitable for summer as they allow heat to escape easily between the slats.
But we also should mention that different fabrics are better heat insulators and sun blockers than others.
Opt for thermal fabrics or honeycomb blinds as they are excellent at keeping the heat inside.
Do Curtains Help with Heat Retention?
Curtains like blinds can help retain heat during the cold season.
They do this by limiting airflow between areas that are warm and cold.
Heavier curtains act as excellent insulators reducing the airflow in different parts of the rooms.
Some models come with a lining on the rear, which creates more insulation while reducing airflow and noise transfer.
Some people even buy another pair of curtains for this purpose and place them behind their first pair.
But while curtains can help retain heat, you need to know when to draw them to reduce heat loss.
Five Additional House Warming Tips
Besides closing your curtain and blinds, you can take several other steps to keep your house warm during winter. These include:
1. Covering Your Walls
Walls made of bricks and stones are better insulators than glass. But, they still do get cold and allow heat loss.
But, covering them up can help reduce energy and heat losses. You can use a picture, a mirror, or even a simple poster.
Such items provide an extra insulating air layer and raise internal temperatures to a certain degree. Therefore, helping you save on energy bills.
It’s better to use framed pictures or mirrors. But these can be expensive.
You can also opt to hang carpets or tapestries on your walls if you have them, as they are even more effective. Additionally, you can create a bookshelf using old books as they are great insulators.
2. Cover the Front Door
Doors are outlets for draught and cold air. Worse is when they are thin and glazed, making them poor insulators.
Besides covering your walls, also think of covering your doors. You can use a thick-lined curtain to do this.
3. Invest in Screens
Preventing heat loss 100% from the outer walls is nearly impossible. But you can protect yourself and others in your house from the cold.
Traditionally, people drew wooden screens behind them as they enjoyed the warmth of a fire.
These screens warmed their backs while the radiation from the fire warmed their fronts.
You can also do the same but ensure you use a miniature fire screen to protect your face from the effects of a roaring fire.
4. Strategically Position Your Furniture
Although the room temperature might be the same, your house will feel warm or cold depending on where you are.
When arranging furniture, place your items next to an internal wall.
Some people place their desks against the wall, so they can look out of the window.
But this way, your legs will quickly get cold, especially during winter.
You can reduce this by placing a cardboard sheet against the wall.
Additionally, if your bed’s head is close to a cold external wall, you may be prone to a stiff neck.
You can counter this by using a sturdy headboard. But in such cases, we advise that you buy a four-poster bed, although it requires a lot of space.
5. Use a Door Sweep
Sometimes cold air can seep beneath the door leading outside. In that case, using a door snake can be the best solution.
Invest in a nylon door sweep and install it along the inside bottom edge of your door.
Final Thoughts
Closing your blinds and curtains during winter can reduce heat loss.
During the day, you should keep them open to allow sunlight to enter your rooms which also warms them up. And at night, close them to prevent heat loss.
