Green Homes—Window Treatments

From awnings, blinds and draperies to overhangs, shades and shutters, consumers have many options for window treatments. Careful selection can bring sound environmental benefits.

Reasons for Window Treatments

Window treatments are more than just decoration. Many are purposeful, says Bernadette Upton of EcoDecor in North Palm Beach, FL. Upton, who is a licensed interior designer, lecturer, and consultant specializing in environmental interior design, says the insulation and privacy factors of traverse draperies are the main reasons so many hotels use draperies for window treatments. In winter, they insulate against extremely cold temperatures, and in summer, they keep the high heat temperatures controlled.

Window treatments also serve to control light coming through windows or skylights. That light can cause: direct or reflected glare on television and computer screens, some fabrics and artwork to fade, and thermal discomfort, says Professor Russ Leslie, associate director of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, and a practicing architect. “These problems are magnified when direct sunlight enters the room,” he says.

Leslie notes in The Lighting Pattern Book for Homes, a book he co-authored, that daylight sources to keep in mind are the direct sun; the sky, which can diffuse the sun’s light; and surfaces surrounding a building that can reflect sun or skylight into the home.