Retaining Heat: To Shut the Curtains or Not...

[thinkxingu]

I've a newly installed French door and picture window (10' X 5'). The door has vinyl blinds installed over it and the window 2-layer curtains.

SO: will there be a noticeable savings in heating costs if I have these curtains/blinds open or closed during the night? All the other windows with blinds installed? Also, there's a baseboard below the picture window--if I shut the curtain, will the heat just go up behind it and to the glass?

What ya think?!

S

 

[semipro]

There's an ongoing discussion related to this topic in the Green Room if you're interested.

 

[mayhem]

When I draw the curtains on my three sliding doors in the living room at night, I notice there is less cold penetration from the doors. I know the cold air still seeps into the house through convection if nothing else, but it doesn't gain any velocity so the cold perimeter around the doors is reduced by the curtains. It does not make a difference in the number of BTUs seeping out of the house...just changes my body's perception of it by reducing the speed of that airflow.

Just my 2 cents.

Open during the day, closed at night. Closed during the day only when seriously overcast and windy.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Close them. Slows drafts, creates a barrier, some radiative reflection.

They're a bigger deal if you have leaky windows.

 

[velvetfoot]

You could get condensation if it gets cold enough.

 

[billb3]

even if all they do is slow down losses they are helping

should help slow down the heat rising and cold dropping across the face of the glass, too.

With some kind of smoke ( incense usually works well) you should be able to watch what happens to the rising heat off the baseboards with the curtains open / closed.






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a layer of plastic should help on the picture window even if it is double / triple pane if you don't mind looking through the plastic.
bubble wrap ( I've tried the small bubble stuff) works pretty good, too and can be removed easily to see out.
or used day / night


every little bit helps.

 

[midwestcoast]

Closed at night slows convection currents along the glass so slows heat loss that way, and also reduces loss of radiant heat from warm walls, stove or whatever in that room. If curtains are tight to the wall & floor (like 1/4" or less) and have a valance they can actually trap a cooler pocket of air in there & have significant effect.

With the baseboard heat there it would depend. If the curtain overhangs the rad and the heat is on at night you may channel that heat along the window & actually loose more since the temp diff btwn outside & inside of window would be increased.

 

[rowerwet]

biggest reason to close the drapes/blinds is due to radiational cooling, the fact that unlike your walls with X amount of insulation in them, your window is an "open hole" to the radiant heat your body and anything else in your house has. Even if you can't find a draft from a window you will be warmer putting a solid layer in between you and the glass