Window Covering Answers

Solutions to the Arched Window Problem The arched window whether a true arch or variable arch can be difficult to cover appropriately. Sometimes your neighbours see a little more than you would care to share. Most often the sun or freezing winter wind brings undesireable consequences to such beautiful architectural windows. Although shutter manufacturers produce satisfactory window coverings, not everyone wants to have that "plantation" look. Finally a company is solving that problem with the Adjust-a-View Moveable Arches. A Great Solution to the Arched window Dilemma Arched Window Treatments, ADJUST-A-VIEW Moveable Arches by Omega, Moveable Arch Window Treatment for Half and Quarter Circle Windows. Accommodates all leading brands of pleated cellular shades. http://www.adjustaview.com/

As the first snows are predicted for this week. I think about all the homes with far too much window, homes with windows that are drafty, or leak heat. I think about all the apartments built in the past with little or no insulation in the walls, windows that haven't been updated since the sixties. I shiver when I think about the surfeit of old, leaky patio doors. Recently I learned that even the most modern of windows only have an R-value of 5 at the most. How discouraging. Not everyone has the means to change their window circumstances. My suggestions for increasing warmth and decreasing energy loss are small methods that may be of use to others. I base these ideas upon observation of what works and what doesn't. Here in Canada we often use transparent plastic to create a dead air space around and in front of the window. Dead air being one of the best insulators. We simply tape that plastic to the frame of the window. Creating an airtight seal. That works but is inconveni

The edge of things is always the most interesting place for me. Not inside. Not outside. But the in between places. The places of transition. The places where choices are made to enter. To leave. To explore. To move towards something new or old. To see something new in something old. It is worth exploring the Hespeler Public Library in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Here where the new has captured the old, both are better for it.

Every once in awhile I find an article that has some promising design for furthering passive solar housing... this is a new one... enjoy! http://www.britishhomesawards.com/archive/AeroSolarDeckHouse

  Synergistic Building Technologies Insulating shutters for greenhouses may have some applications for residential homes with a view to future energy savings. With the increased interest in "smart home technologies", shutters that operate electronically may be useful for those who live in harsher climates. Synergistic Building Technologies may have several of the answers to better control of energy with window systems. Follow the link below to find new ways of providing a better life for yourself and others. Insulating shutters seem to offer a new way of looking at an old system. This greenhouse offers a giant step forward towards community self sufficiency. This technology could spark an application for homes too. At least I would hope so... homes of all kinds could benefit from such innovative light and heat control. Pocket shutters operated electronically seem like a giant leap forward. Here is the link for synergistic building technologies: http://www.syn

Summer brings its own challenges. Here in Canada our windows, walls, roofs, doorways are all designed to hold the heat and we suffer in the summer from our winterized homes. Some window films can help this but works against us in the winter when passive solar can help to heat the house. Awnings are one answer to providing shade for the home during the hottest months.  Bamboo blinds are another answer.  In the South Asian continent bamboo blinds are sprayed with water in order to provide a type of air conditioning.

 

Image via Wikipedia This house could be heated entirely with a hairdryer. The windows were triple glazed and on some sides of the building there were insulated shutters. All more than 33 years ago in 1978. Sometimes some advances are before their time. Recently a German physicist named Dr. Wolfgang Feist resurrected and improved on the energy saving ideas of the Saskatchewan Conservation House. The Tyee – Step Inside the Real Home of the Future: Passivhaus Related articles What Is a Passivhaus? (matternetwork.com)      The Rise of the Passive House [The Tyee] (jetsongreen.com) Efficiency could cut world energy use over 70 per cent (newscientist.com) Super-efficient Passive House standard draws fans (news.cnet.com) Passive House Going Up in New York (jetsongreen.com) Image via Wikipedia

The following site has a huge compendium of energy saving tips, gadgets and new ways of looking at old problems. I suspect I will return to this site again and again. There are so many ways of insulating windows and living more comfortably with a smaller energy footprint.  I have not examined the section on window coverings, but I am impressed with the innovative techniques displayed here. http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Conservation/conservation.htm#WindowTreatments

Image via Wikipedia No one likes to - compromise. No one. We want what we want and we want it now! At the window it is all about compromise. Windows and doors occupy a significant metaphorical space in our heads. They are the point at which exterior and interior lives meet.  Sometimes our desire is for shutting things out, other times it is for inviting the world to participate in our lives as we live them, sometimes a window covering will allow both. But that is rare.  Just about as rare as getting two partners to agree on the same window covering. It happens, but only after considerable comment and sometimes one or the other caves...it doesn't seem to matter if it's two men, two women or a man and a woman. Compromise is necessary. 

Image via Wikipedia Two juxtapositions: Most people are aware that venetian blinds, or horizontals have been around for about 100 years but apparently they were once called Persian Blinds for that is where  they were invented over 500 years ago. Roman blinds are even older. Based on the pulley system Roman blinds date from the time of Christ. So why such consistency?  Why are there so few new ways of covering our windows? If we are losing heat or airconditioned coolness through our windows why are there so few innovations in this area?

Window coverings fail from time to time. Repairs can be costly. This company offers an alternative to the landfill or buying new blinds. Sometimes a new part is all that is needed to extend the life of a favourite blind.  http://www.blindsparts.com/servlet/StoreFront?gclid=CMDAg_7C2ZcCFQKNxwod5T