Cellular Shades Offer Insulation Options

On a cold winter night, the drafty windows come out to play. Sitting in the comfortable easy chair, drinking hot cocoa, and relaxing feels great, except when the cool wind creeps around the window panes and you feel a chill down your arm. Other days, when it is not so cool, the constant noise from the neighbors makes it hard to hear on the phone.

At night, sometime you may have a bright street light which will make it hard to rest when you have had a long day. All of these problems are common, and all can be alleviated, at least partially, by using cellular shades. Cellular shades use a pocket of baffling air, which can help block noise and the elements, and the fabric, often room darkening, can allow cellular shades to make your rooms darker and more restful. The selection of cellular shades is an adventure, however.

There are dozens of styles and hundreds of colors. Which ones help to sole your problems best, and which ones are the most attractive for your space? Selecting a cellular shade is the topic we will cover here, and you should finish knowing how to insulate with cellular shades. Before starting, consider what you are trying to insulate from, be it temperature, noise, light, or even the prying eyes of the neighbors. The presentation of cellular shades will include a range of dimensions and colors, as well as light control description. Consider the following as your guidelines when selecting cellular shades for insulation.

The amount of cavities, or cells, will increase the efficiency of insulation. Common double cell shades will act much better compared to single cellular shades, because they will have offset pockets of air inside the shade, and this will create a situation where you have two filters for the noise or temperature you are resisting. Larger cells are useful when there are not good choices of double cellular shade fabric. If light control is the type of insulation you desire, there are a few ways to make these choices. First, the easy selection if to choose blackout cellular shades.

These room darkening materials are supposed to block the most light, and do so with a lining inside the fabric, sometimes made of metal. Another choice would be to use a cellular shade material that is not completely blackout, but is almost complete. This can be done by using a honeycomb shade, which is a multiple layer, or a multiple cell shade.

The extra cells use extra fabric, which will thus block an increasing level of light. The color of the shade does affect the amount of insulation that the cellular shade will provide. The darker colors on the street side of the shade will absorb more light, and prevent much of it from passing through the shade into your room.

Similarly, lighter fabric colors will allow more light to enter. The same relationship works for temperature control. A darker fabric will gather the heat better, and this can be good or bad. If a consumer wants to use cell shades to help warm a room, then darker colors, particularly on the outside face of the fabric, will help to create a slight radiator for the warmth. On the other hand, if a consumer wants to cool the room and let the air conditioner work better, then the lighter color cellular shades can be helpful in this situation. Unfortunately, with cellular shades, there are very rarely choices in dark street sides of the fabrics.

This is because many American apartments and other buildings require a neutral back of the shades and blinds that are installed there, to provide for a uniform appearance of the building from the street. If insulation is the desired effect, cellular shades are the perfect product to select for your windows. Their plain contemporary appearance should not affect your decor, but at the same time, they will help manage several key comfort factors. Cellular shades can help keep the heat out in the summer, the cool out during the winter, and can help to baffle the noises of the outside world. All of this with light control and privacy makes cellular shades an ideal problem solving window treatment for many consumers.

Judith Persit is a window treatment designer for many high end developments. Judith writes about cellular shades. Learn more about shades by reading her articles.