How Thermal Blackout Curtains Can Reduce Your Electric Bill

Keeping cool in the scorching heat of summer, or warm in the frozen tundra of December can be hard, especially when you’re constantly worrying about running up the electric bill. However, unless you want to be in constant discomfort in your own home, it’s an expense we all have to live with. Luckily for you, there’s a product out there that can help improve the insulation abilities of windows and doors without breaking the bank. In fact, it should end up paying for itself in time with the money saved on the electric bill. The product in question is thermal blackout curtains that can be hung over almost any window or door in your house.

How Thermal Blackout Curtains Work

Ever wonder why primitive homes avoid adding windows to their design plan? Windows provide an easy exit point for airflow, greatly accelerating heat transfer and creating a more difficult environment for temperature control. This was catastrophic hundreds of years ago. Today, thermal blackout curtains provide protection against the conditions outside, while being customizable and easy to retract for accessibility to natural light.

With today’s innovations in the market, some thermal blackout curtains are sophisticated and engineered to be energy-efficient devices. They function at a higher level and help people save even more on their electric bill. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, approximately one-third of a homes total heat loss occurs through window and door openings! Insulated curtains protect your home from the four main types of heat loss: conduction, infiltration, convection and radiation.

Soundproof curtains with Thermal & Blackout Qualities

Contrary to what outside marketing material has presented, studies prove that ‘thick’ curtains do not provide adequate temperature protection verse a curtain designed with technical assistance and material properties. Soundproof curtains like the AcousticCurtian or AcoustiTrac, are designed for maximum sound and light protection, as well as being a powerful insulator for the home for heat loss. The science behind the AcousticCurtain product line has to do with its dense sound blocking core, and it’s ability to deflect powerful sound waves from entering a living environment. As an added benefit, being able to create a firm seal to the wall, the AcousticCurtain protects a home from the transfer of heat both ways – keeping a home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer months. Nothing is worse than feeling a blast of cold air seep into your home from a drafty window, and our engineering team understood this during the design process.

Quality thermal blackout curtains like these produce an R-value similar or better than energy-efficient double-pane windows. The R-value is a measure of thermal resistance, or insulating capabilities, for a particular material or grouping of materials. The higher the R-rating, the higher the insulations effectiveness will be. Before purchasing an insulating drapery, be sure the correct testing has been done to receive the highest quality product for your needs.

Added Benefits of Sound Blocking Curtains

Along with their hot and cool air blocking abilities, these curtains mainly function to block sound waves. So while they work to keep your windows and doors insulated they’ll also work to block any unwanted noise you may be experiencing. Some of the main problems people who purchase soundproof curtains face include traffic noise, train noises, barking dogs and others.

Some customers also use them as room dividers between upstairs and downstairs to stop air transfer. Anyone who lives in a two-story house knows that the downstairs is always freezing while the hot air lingers upstairs. So on top of blocking air transfer through your windows and doors, theses soundproof, thermal blackout curtains help to block air transfer between different rooms in a house.

Using Thermal Blackout Curtains to Cut Costs

So, if you’re like everyone else and you want to save money wherever you can, try thermal blackout curtains. The money you save on electricity will soon add up so the curtains end up paying for themselves. On top of the money and energy savings you’ll experience, the curtains will also add extra soundproofing to your home. For any questions about the curtains, you can always give us a call or shoot us an email, we’re always happy to help here at Residential Acoustics.