Consumers and businesses alike are feeling the squeeze with the latest increases in energy prices and it seems the worst is yet to come. About 30% of heat is lost through the windows of an average home so now is the time to highlight this problem with clients and show them that their window shading could help them save energy and money.

No longer the preserve of the elite, motorised shading is now ubiquitous thanks in no small part to the smart home revolution of recent years. To discuss motorised blinds whilst trying to save energy may seem counterintuitive but they can be extremely energy efficient. For instance, a typical motorised roller blind with a built-in li-ion battery can run on just two 6-hour charges a year.
With the help of scheduling and routines that are predominantly rooted in apps and other smart home integrations, your blinds can easily be set to open and close at appropriate times to trap or deflect heat depending on the time of year.

With a honeycomb structure formed from dual layers of fabrics, pleated blinds that utilise a cellular fabric such as Hive or Honeycell create a wall of air pockets that serve to insulate the window. The pockets keep the summer heat from entering a room and, conversely, trap valuable heat indoors during the winter months. This thermal insulation goes a long way to reducing heat loss.

Many blind types can provide some level of solar reflection – from a simple white backing on a Roman blind to metallic threads woven into roller blind fabrics that have been proven to reflect up more than 80% of solar heat, so the blinds themselves don’t even get warm. Perfect for south-facing windows in the UK.

In recent months and years, there has been explosive growth in fabrics that are made from PET plastics recycled from products like water bottles. This is also the case in the shading industry. While it’s not so much an energy-saving exercise for users, it’s certainly appealing to a market that is increasingly mindful of sustainable products and practices. Being indistinguishable from traditional textile materials, clients can meet their environmental goals in style.

A combination of solutions can be employed to suit the needs of residential and commercial properties alike depending on their specific needs, and functionality never needs to sacrifice aesthetics.