Summer is just around the corner.  SCV summers are so lovely, warm days and nights can be conducive to entertaining outdoors, but the warmth can also shoot our energy bill through the roof.

Today’s article addresses some important tips on saving money and beautifying your home at the same time.

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Without energy-efficient window treatments, as much as 50% of a home’s heating and cooling energy can be lost through its windows. All Hunter Douglas window fashions provide window insulation, offering your home increased protection against heat loss during the winter, as well as minimizing the sun’s heat or “solar heat” during the summer. More specifically, here’s how Hunter Douglas products help conserve energy at the window in these three significant ways:

Insulation
It’s a scientific fact that heat is attracted to cold. In winter months, indoor heating moves toward and escapes through windows to the outdoors, while in summertime, the outside heat flows into your home through these same windows. Many Hunter Douglas window fashions boast high R-values—the measure of a product’s ability to resist heat flow—helping reduce energy consumption, save on heating and cooling costs, and creating a more comfortable room setting. 

Solar Heat Control
The warmth provided by the sun, its solar energy, may be desirable during the winter to help heat your home, yet it can make a room overly hot and uncomfortable while driving up air conditioning costs in the summer. Many Hunter Douglas products are designed to reduce the amount of solar heat that passes through the window, which is known as the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC). The lower the SHGC, the more protected your home is from the sun’s heat. To enjoy the sun’s warmth when desired, simply raise or open the window fashion and invite it in. 

Daylighting
Daylighting is the practice of lighting rooms with natural light rather than generating illumination from electricity. With Hunter Douglas window fashions, you can control how much natural light comes into your room. Our sheers and other select styles actually diffuse light as it enters and help to draw it deeper into the room. You can also direct incoming light where it’s needed most by titling the louvers, slats, vanes, blinds and panels. By drawing natural light into a room many of our window treatments reduce your energy needs for other types of lighting.

This season (through September 12, 2011), dress your windows in style and enjoy generous rebate savings on select Hunter Douglas Window Shadings.  I am proud to be Hunter Douglas Priority Dealer.

Tami Smight Interiors, a full-service interior design firm, has been gracing southern California homes with warm, accessible designs since 2004.

As a certified professional interior designer, Tami Smight shares expert design tips, tricks and trends in her column. Check out her articles in our SCV “Your Home Inside And Out” section.