Things You'll Need:
- Low-e Windows
- Fabrics
- Honeycomb Pleated Window Shades
- Rolling-style Window Shades
- Shade Cloth
- Sheer Curtains
- Spring-tension Curtain Rods
- Trees
- Two-inch Wooden Venetian Blinds
- Vertical Blinds
- Window Films
- Wooden Exterior Shutters
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Step 1
Install energy-efficient low-e (low-emissivity) windows. Note that soft-coat low-e windows provide somewhat higher efficiency than hard-coat low-e windows.
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Step 2
Plant a tree to shade a hot window. Choose a deciduous tree if you want the sun to warm the window in wintertime.
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Step 3
Install wood shutters (either colonial or plantation style) or two-inch-wide wooden venetian blinds over the window and close them when the sun beams directly in. Wood has excellent heat-blocking properties.
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Step 4
Hang pleated window shades with three (or at least two) layers of honeycomb fabric.
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Step 5
Apply a thermal window film. Do-it-yourself films are available at home centers.
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Step 6
Layer traditional window treatments by putting generously shirred sheers (don't let them touch the glass) followed by an air gap and then a lined window treatment that you close during the heat of the day. The air gaps between the glass, the sheers, and the lined window treatment provide insulation.
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Step 7
Line draperies with suedelike, thermal fabric.
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Step 8
Mount a roller shade behind your curtains or drapes and pull it down during the heat of the day. Or install a custom-made foil-core roller shade that's energy-efficient enough to be a stand-alone heat barrier.
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Step 9
Select the right vertical blinds if that's your window treatment of choice. Choose curved louvers with fabric inserts that close snugly for the best barrier; you can enhance their efficiency with a window shade installed behind the vertical blinds.
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Step 10
Sew your own "sheers" out of white shade cloth, a sun-filtering mesh sold at garden centers.
