Windows are one of the biggest sources of heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer — which means the right treatment doesn’t just change how a room looks, it changes how hard your HVAC system has to work. Here’s what actually moves the needle in a New England climate.
Single and even double-pane windows lose heat fast once temperatures drop. The most effective treatment for this is honeycomb shades, whose cellular design traps a layer of air between the window and the room, acting almost like an extra layer of insulation. Homeowners in older Cambridge and Boston homes with original windows tend to see the biggest difference here, since it’s often the single best upgrade short of replacing the windows themselves.
The most effective way to manage summer heat is to stop it before it ever reaches the glass. Exterior roller shades block solar heat outside the window, which is significantly more effective than any interior treatment for reducing how hard your AC has to work on a west-facing room in July.
For interior options, roller shades in light-filtering or solar screen fabrics cut glare and heat while still letting you keep some natural light in the room.
Skylights lose heat fast in winter and turn rooms into greenhouses in summer — often both, in the same room, six months apart. Our skylight treatments are designed to address both problems at once, often with automated controls since manually adjusting a skylight shade multiple times a day isn’t realistic for most people.
Scheduled automation can do a lot of the energy-saving work for you. Shades that close automatically during peak afternoon sun in the summer, or open to let in warming sunlight on a cold winter morning, do more for efficiency than any static treatment can. Our automated shades, paired with wireless rechargeable motors, make that kind of scheduling possible without an electrician rewiring the room.
For homeowners who want an efficiency boost with a more traditional look, custom shutters add a solid barrier layer at the window that helps with both drafts in winter and heat gain in summer, while giving a room a classic, built-in appearance.
Every home loses and gains heat differently depending on window age, orientation, and exposure — there’s no single answer that fits every property. Schedule a free in-home consultation and we’ll walk your home room by room to figure out where treatments will actually make a measurable difference on your energy bill.
