Many homeowners today discover that open-top curtain tracks admit cold air from outdoors around window frames during winter while allowing warm, well-heated air from indoors to escape. Especially when the brackets of your curtain track systems extend the track to a distance of about 1.5 inches from the wall, this loss of warm air from your home heating system can become a major problem. This open-top curtain track style reduces the thermal protection of your windows significantly.
Regardless of whether you have single-glazed, double-glazed or storm windows installed in your home, windows can interfere regularly with your home’s thermal envelope, causing cold drafts and energy loss in winter, which result in higher heating bills. Actually, a gap of any size between your curtain-top and the wall will reduce the effects of your insulating efforts for room interiors during days with freezing temperatures or blustery weather conditions.
Advice for Using Open-Top Curtain Tracks During the Winter Season
The following tips can help you resolve your home’s loss of heat and increasingly higher energy bills during the cold, blustery months of winter, enabling you to enjoy using your open-top curtain tracks throughout the year:
• Install a Pelmet. By installing a pelmet (a valance or cornice) to cover the top of your curtain rail, you can help keep cold air from entering your room around a window frame during winter. You can also help retain warm, comfortable air inside your home, especially on freezing cold days when warm home interiors are essential. One type of pelmet extends downward from the ceiling and covers your curtain-top. A second style, a box pelmet, has protective closed sides for insulating purposes at the top of your windows. For greatest effectiveness, a pelmet must cover the top of your curtain by at least two inches.
• Install a Floor-Length Curtain. If you substitute a floor-length curtain for your free-hanging one, the longer curtain will prevent the flow of air at the bottom of your curtain fabric. This will also help to keep cold air from entering your room or warm air from escaping around your window frames. It is also helpful to use a thicker, more closely woven fabric for better window area insulation during periods of cold weather in winter. This will also inhibit the free flow of air in and out of your home around windows, keeping your home’s interior warmer and cozier.
• Use Insulation Strips and Sill Flashing. Although many people try covering their windows with plastic shrink wrap, the plastic tends to loosen and fall away from windows and window frames. A better solution is using durable insulation strips that fit securely around your window framing and stay in place. Many home building and renovating experts recommend the sill flashing method. This involves installing a piece of ready-made plastic flashing (or a site-built system) that will slant away from the window opening, preventing water, moisture and damp, cold air from accumulating beneath your window, or between your window and windowsill.
When you contact the window treatment experts at I Love Blinds in conjunction with Eyecon Interior Solutions located in Nunawading, Victoria, you will receive excellent advice concerning use of open-top curtain tracks during the cold winter season. Our experienced professionals will inform you about the very best methods of insulating the windows to keep your home interiors well heated without removing the tracking for your current open-top curtains.