Window Covering Answers

Power up your windows     Okay. This is not for everyone. And maybe it is not for anyone who has small children around. But it is great!   As the demographic changes from middle aged to elderly the need for such devices is going to become greater. Wow! I am so impressed with the ease of this.   From HACKAWEEK TV, the 5 Minute Power Blind. I also found this..... So delightful when you see someone young making the future. I loved this. No it is not perfect, but it is very inexpensive. Motorization has been around about 30 years but it has only taken off with the advent of Smart Homes. Somfy Systems is just one of several manufacturers that is bringing the future into our homes. Of course motorization comes with roller shades, panel tracks, vertical blinds and roman shades as well. Check out the youtube videos for this manufacturer, there is a wide variety of styles and methods available.

3-D Printing, Solar Power and Window Coverings http://www.3dprinterworld.com/article/solar-power-organic-photovoltaics-and-3d-printing So, okay we are not here yet. But we are definitely closer than we once were. Imagine it... a world in which 3-D printing could quite possibly revolutionize not just what we wear but also what we put at the window. Organic photovoltaics created at the NLP in Britain seem to make the promise that even on cloudy days, solar energy can be manufactured. Here is the link to the article that outlines just how this might proceed. http://www.3dprinterworld.com/article/solar-power-organic-photovoltaics-and-3d-printing Several years ago when I began this blog I used to muse about how cool it would be for windows to create solar power. In subsequent years new technologies began to appear that began to revolutionize what we do at the window. Now several companies seem to be heading in that direction. 3-D Printing will revolutionize how we manufact

H ow to make a Laminated Roller Shade This is a fine video about how to make your own roller shade. The company here offers all the tools that you need to complete this project. It strikes me that many ready to go roller shades could be utilized in this way, saving money and time.  I haven't tried this yet but I will.... it would be ideal for my own window in my front door. Here is the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH50yzgeDyA   One of the reasons for having roller shades at the window is energy saving. When you add a layer of vinyl at the window you are breaking the otherwise automatic heat transfer that goes from inside to outside. The vinyl creates an air pocket next to the window that slows the transfer of heat because it creates dead air space. Dead air space slows the convection that often occurs at the window as heated air rises and cold air falls. Hence the dreaded draft at the windows.

    Transparent Solar Cells      http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/188667-a-fully-transparent-solar-cell-that-could-make-every-window-and-screen-a-power-source The link above which takes you to an article from Extremetech.com Recent advances from the University of Michigan promise a new direction for window technologies. Driving the need to replace fossil with solar energy has become a direction for some researchers, and this looks very promising. Although making windows that will create solar power is not happening this year... it appears we are all getting a bit closer. From UCLA a couple of years before this, Professor Yang Yang and his group invented a different transparent solar cell. Here is the link to this article. http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/sci/transparent-solar-cells-turn-windows-power-sources.html

Window Film and Nanotechnology mean Energy Saving. Thin Film Solar Cell Technology - Professor Chris Binns - University of Leicester   At this point this new energy delivery system is still in the early stages of development. But. It may provide a revolutionary new way to save energy at the window by creating a solar energy production system.  One more step closer to heating our homes with non renewable energy systems. Imagine.... windows that produce solar power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_NS0eyB46I New Energy Technologies    Here is another commercial developer of Solar Windows. Nanotechnology and sprayed on solar window coatings combine to create solar energy. Such technology has the potential to  save us all from global warming, lowering our reliance on fossil fuels.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BohznWrTrO8 Cathedral, Solar panels and stained glass windows. Amazing. Combining solar panels and stained glass in Saskatoon,  Saskatchewan

Art at the Window     Okay, so I am helpless when I see art at the window. Unique, self made, beautiful, innovative, crafty, artistic, or innovative and I can't help myself.  I think it needs a wider audience.     One of the best places to see these virtuoso pieces is PINTEREST. I have some of my own favourites there, along with other boards of course. Just a warning. Pinterest is terribly addictive, you can lose entire days just ogling beautiful and visionary pieces. Mostly Pinterest is inspiring to me, and it makes me make things.     One of the delights is finding something like Natalia Ivancevich Hayes great paper cut blinds. Magnificent. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/elegant-hand-cut-paper-window-treatments-170322?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+apartmenttherapy/main+(AT+Channel:+Main ) Or. Something that reveals an ancient past, some ritual from ages ago, that reveals the poetry and art that hides within a simple l

Miracle Windows This seems nothing short of truly amazing. The future is now. What a marvellous innovation. Daylight on demand. Messing with reality, and making us feel as though we control everything. But what a cool idea.