beat the heat
by Phyllis Hunt

Window treatments have come a long way since the days when curtains or shutters were your only options. Today's high-tech treatments offer choices galore that are both stylish and energy efficient.

Summertime in Colorado is certainly beautiful, but those without air conditioning may wish it would pass quickly, as our high-altitude sunshine can turn a cool, comfortable living space into a muggy inferno come July and August. Glare and ultraviolet radiation, which fades furniture and flooring, aggravate the discomfort.

Fortunately, today’s high-tech window treatments reduce summer heat, glare and UV rays to varying degrees. The trick is making the right choices for your home’s windows.

Homeowners should consider these three factors when shopping for window treatments: “reflectivity, absorption and transmittance,” says Rick Pease, co-owner of Innovative Openings in Louisville. Reflectivity is the amount of solar energy reflected back when sunlight hits a window covering; absorption is how much solar energy is absorbed; and transmittance is how much solar energy passes through.

Reflectivity, absorption and transmittance combine to influence heat efficiency, glare and UV rays, while hard and soft window treatments (see Window Treatment Options) work in tandem to keep a home warm in winter and cool in summer.

Manufacturers thread these performance properties into window coverings to achieve various goals. In summer, the goal is to keep heat out. Six months from now, you’ll want to keep heat in and curb heat transmittance to improve insulating capacity. Reducing glare and UV rays is a year-round task, as is creating privacy. So choosing an effective window treatment takes know-how and skill.

As owner and window covering specialist at Boulder’s Cloth Constructions, Ann Urban possesses both. “Effective window treatments come in layers,” she says. These layers moderate privacy, UV protection, light control, glare and heat reduction, and personalize a living space, Urban says.

Industry experts differentiate layers into hard and soft treatments. Hard treatments are the foundation of a window-layering system and include solar screen shades made of vinyl-coated polyester and vinyl-coated fiberglass; cellular, natural woven-wood and pleated shades; sheer products; metal, wood or faux-wood horizontal blinds; and vertical blinds.

Soft treatments form the secondary layer and consist of formal drapes in various styles, as well as fabric shades that soften a window treatment’s overall appearance.

Layering allows you to work in stages to suit your budget, while expertise is necessary to know which window treatments you need.

Quick Cool-Downs
“When we work with clients, we often find early on that they’re more concerned about heat, especially in west-facing windows where even air conditioning may not effectively keep up with the heat passing through a window,” Pease says. “That’s why the consultation phase is a critical component of the whole selection process.”

For those clients, Pease has two suggestions. The first is a European-style Insolroll exterior rolling shutter that provides a total sunblock. The second is a retractable Insolroll external solar screen shade that blocks up to 95 percent of the incoming heat, glare and UV rays. Both are manufactured at Innovative Openings’ Louisville headquarters.

Solar screen shades have the added advantage of providing maximum heat, glare and UV protection, while preserving external views. Fabric density and color govern the amount of UV and glare protection, as well as view clarity. For example, light-colored solar-screen fabrics diffuse interior light and reduce heat more than dark-colored fabrics. In comparison, dark-colored fabrics block up to 95 percent of glare and UV rays, and provide better visibility than light-colored fabrics.

Dark-colored solar screen shades mounted on a window’s exterior allows them to absorb heat before it penetrates the glass, providing maximum heat protection. However, that placement wouldn’t work as well in areas exposed to high winds.

“If heat is your main concern, an exterior shade is the way to go,” Pease says. But these shades can also be placed on a window’s interior, which is where the majority of Innovative Openings’ clients position them. “On the interior they’ll provide better UV and glare control,” Pease says, “but they won’t be as effective in blocking heat as they would on the exterior.”

Other interior treatments consist of cellular shades, vertical and horizontal sheers, and natural woven-wood shades. All offer varying degrees of heat, UV and privacy control, as well as appealing fabric and color combinations in innovative designs.

Seconds, Please
A window treatment’s secondary layer consists of draperies and sheers, and Urban’s eyes light up when discussing them. “Our hearts and talents lie in creating beauty and personalizing window treatments,” Urban says. By retaining a common element and combining styles to achieve ambience, Cloth Constructions’ secondary layers create flow throughout a home and personalize a room, she says.

For example, Urban’s soft treatments might combine stationary, side-drape panels on one window, movable drape panels on a second window and a pole-swag above a third—all in matching fabric. An adjacent room might feature dowel Roman shades with cornices that capture the drapery’s colors and textures. Other custom designs would do the many jobs required of a window treatment.

Now that you know the window treatment basics, check out the products available and create a cool haven this summer.

Colorado’s sun has inspired freelance writer Phyllis Hunt to make and buy a variety of window treatments over the years. She now has one properly dressed window.Carol Brock is editor of Boulder County Home&Garden Magazine and a secret admirer of fairies and other foolishness.

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