Four Ways Curtains Can Curb Your Home Heating Energy Usage
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Yes, I realize that after the recent cold front that just washed down from the arctic the last thing many of us are thinking is “How can I reduce my need for heating?” I mean, when it’s -23° outside and you’ve spent the whole day shivering at your desk while sitting next to your giant corner-office window, it is hard to resist the urge to crank up the thermostat when you get home. (Frankly, I would have probably done the same, but my downstairs neighbors have the only thermostat in my building, so I resorted to breaking apart my furniture for wood scraps and burning them in my paper recycling bucket in a big fire pile at the foot of my bed.)
However, if you were able to go through with it and did crank up your thermostat, it’ll be next month when the bill arrives that you’ll really be … feeling the heat. (e-groan)
Here are four tips from Jon Clift and Amanda Cuthbert, authors of Energy: Use Less—Save More on how to reduce your heating needs…using only your curtains!
- Open the curtains during the day if the sun is shining on our windows, and let the sun heat your room.
- Draw curtains over windows at night; they provide insulation and help to keep the heat in the room.
- Avoid covering radiators with curtains – they will funnel the heat out through the glass of the windows. Tuck them in behind, to enable the radiator heat to come into the room.
- If your curtains are thin, line them with thicker fluffy materials, such as brushed cotton, to help keep the heat in.
If you like these tips and would like more just like them delivered to you throughout your work day, sign up for Twitter and follow our @GreenTweet feed. Happy heating!
January 19th, 2009 at 11:46 am
I’m not sure if this qualifies as green or just New England survival, but speaking of the urge to crank up the thermostat when you get home from work, in the winter, I switch from showering in the morning to showering at night. That way, you get home, turn up the thermostat (a little…) and then hop in the shower to get the chill out of your bones. By the time you’re out, your apartment is warm(er) & so are you. Also, in the morning, not having to shower means you get to stay in bed under your 3,000 blankets a little bit longer and then just dash off to work.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Have you considered running this idea by any theoretical office mates you might have?
But more to the point, how might that reduce the total energy consumption? Are you able to leave the thermostat lower during some portion of the day? Do you turn your thermostat down when you go to bed, and this evening-shower deal lets you leave it down when you wake up, whereas if you showered in the morning you’d be more tempted to crank the heat at least for a little while before leaving for work?
Combining the off-poing and more-to-the-point, maybe any theoretical office mates you might have might not mind if you skipped showering altogether, at least every other day or so. Save the hot water.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Howdy. I understand that curtains which are open along the top of the window and end at the window sill actually make a room cooler when closed. The cold air coming in through the window falls to the floor and draws warm air from the top. A valance to the ceiling or other decorative box could reduce or eliminate the warm air being drawn in while floor length drapes would keep the colder air from entering the room at the same time. And it can look good at the same time. (Can anyone debunk this? It seems logical, but you know how these things go…) Good luck.
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:34 am
I agree with getting the most out of the sunbut unlike oil, gas and coal, wood is a renewable resource, and as long as forests are properly replenished, we can heat homes with wood without depleting the earth’s natural resources. Wood is also a more economical means to home heating than relying solely on an oil or gas furnace. Gathering wood is a healthy activity, adding a level of exercise to the day. And of course, huddling in front of a smoldering fire after coming in from the cold is one of lifes small pleasurs. Burning wood is allot of work and can be a little dirty but their is a major gratification to seeing that low heating bill and knowing that your house is as warm as you want it with out turning up that thermostat. I recently took the grate out of my fireplace and replaced it with a grate heater and now I’m heating my whole house with my fireplace. A fireplace is about 5% heat efficient and this they claim makes it a 120,000 BTU per hour furnace and I believe it you can’t make to big of a fire or you will run you’re self out. I bought the grate heater on ebay it was called insertafurnace it was the only one with a screen. I also found the website http://www.insertafurnace.com/
June 25th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I have a couple of concerns with the advice. First, if there is a radiator near the window curtains should not be placed in front of or behind the radiator. This is a fire hazard.
Curtains should be shortened to a length which is above the radiator. Also, if the curtains are too thin and especially if they are around a radiator they should not be lined with anything, AGAIN a HUGE FIRE HAZARD.
Curtains should be purchased that have thermal properties. These can be purchased for all retailers including Target, Wal-Mart, etc for around $20.00. This is a much saver and more engergy efficient allternative.