Insulated Cellular Shades Recommendations for Energy Efficiency

The typical US family spends close to $1,900 a year on their home's utility bills.

Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 44% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. Heat lost through windows can account for 10% to 25% of your heating bill. During the summer, sunny windows make your air conditioning work two to three times harder.

By using a few inexpensive energy-efficient measures, including installing cellular shades, you can reduce your energy bills by 10% to 50%.

Comfortex Energy Saving Report by US Cities (pdf)

Acknowledgements to Comfortex Window Fashions for the above information.

Light Filtering Fabrics
	We Recommend Generic 3/8'' Double Cell Cellular Shades	Comfortex 3/8'' Double Cell Light Filtering Shades (Symphony) Cellular Blinds	Bali DiamondCell Northern Lights Double Cell
Price*	$80	$97	$105
R-Value**	5.8	5.16	5.33

Room Darkening Fabrics
	We Recommend Generic 3/8'' Double Cell Blackout Shades	Bali DiamondCell Double Cell (Midnight)
Price*	$108	$132
R-Value**	5.89	5.45

*Price is for a 36 x 60 shade.

** "R-Value" is a measure of a given material's resistance to heat flow - how well it resists heat gain or loss. In short, the higher the R-value, the better the insulation it will provide for you.

Your windows themselves have and R-value. A typical window has an R-value ranging from 0.9 to 3.0. (To put this in perspective, the insulation that is used to build a home today has an R-value in the low 40s).

Several factors influence the R-value of your windows:
Type of glazing material
Number of layers of glass
Size of the air space between the glass layers
Thermal resistance of the frame and spacer materials
"Tightness" of the installation

R-Value and your Window Treatments
The window treatments you select also have an R-value. The higher the R-value, the more insulating benefits you'll receive. Adding cellular shades to your windows can block as much as 62% of the heat transfer through a window pane according to Alliant Energy.