From Guest Blogger Lizzie Weakly: Window Fashions that Will Make your Home More Energy Efficient

One thing that can help give a home a distinctive look is its windows. Windows are also a determining factor in how energy efficient a home can be. However, you don’t have to sacrifice style for energy conservation. Below are a few different window fashions that will make your home more energy efficient.

1. Tinted Window Film

One excellent choice for increasing your home’s energy efficiency via your windows is installing window film. While many prefer to install clear window film, there is also the choice of tinted film. This can give certain rooms in your house a very stylish look. If you choose a certain color, say blue, the sun will bathe the entire room in an enchanting blue tint.

There are certain great benefits to tinted window film as well. When a window film has been correctly installed, it stops heat from escaping through the glass in the winter and stops it from seeping inside during the summer. This can result in a significant decrease in energy bills all year long.

The film is also guaranteed to stop UV rays from entering your home. This can benefit the health of your family and stop the rays from damaging other things that may be in a room like artwork.

2. Stylish Window Shutters

Another great choice for adding both style and energy efficiency to your home is window shutters. For one, there are many attractive designs to choose from. This includes classic solid shutters that are made out of carved wood. It also includes attractive café and plantation style shutters that can be adjusted to let in certain amounts of light or opened and closed completely.

Beyond the inherent attractiveness of shutters, they also can benefit your home in the way of energy efficiency. During the winter, shutters for windows can stop cold drafts from entering your house. This will allow you to rely less on your furnace and can bring down your heating costs significantly. They can also allow you to use your air conditioner less during the summer. Closing the shutters will block out the sun, and that will cause the temperature in a room to remain cool.

3. Attractive Awnings

Awnings are another way to add both style and energy conservation to your home. An awning is some kind of material that has been stretched over a frame that keeps the sun out of a window.

There are near infinite possibilities for awnings. Awnings can be made out of canvass, metal, laminate, synthetic fabric or nearly any other kind of material. No matter the design or color scheme of your home, you are sure to find an awning that matches the aesthetic of your house. An awning can add some personality to what would have otherwise been a boring window frame.

Awnings also provide other great benefits. In the summer, an awning can reduce the amount of solar heat that enters a home through a window by almost 70 percent if the window is pointing towards the south and by almost 80 percent if it’s pointing towards the west. What this means is having to run your air conditioner less in the summer.

Many awnings, such as fabric ones, are also retractable. After it gets cold, an awning can simply be retracted to allow the sun to freely hit a window and supply that home with some extra warmth. This can mean having to spend less on heating bills especially if your home has a lot of large windows.

Overall, there are many choices for window treatments that can add a lot to your home in terms of both style and energy efficiency. Consider these and other options if you want to give your windows a serious upgrade.