An Efficient and Simple Thermal Shade System for Windows

Mike came up with this simple system for a high R value thermal shade for windows.

It uses a fleece layer behind a regular window shade.  The extra layer provides added insulation and air sealing.

Thanks very much to Mike for sending this in!

 

Lots more insulating window treatments here... 

 


Here are the details from Mike:

efficient and simple thermal shade

Hi Gary,

For window insulation, I use a fleece curtain behind a regular curtain. 

Fleece seals better than most fabric as it tends to grab fleece from the other half of the curtain (the outer ends don't seal well though, but better than without fleece).

With the fleece, one nice thing is that it requires no sewing.  Just scissors to cut to the overall shape and then cut slits for the current rod to go through.  Put the current rod on the inside of the window frame and it seals pretty well.

This picture is of our sliding glass door but we use this arrangement on all our windows. 

We also use window inserts made of cheap pine furring strips and window shrink film on both sides of the frame. 

Before adding the window inserts we had tons of ice build up on the windows, which shows the fleece curtain + curtain combo insulated well but didn't seal very well.  After adding the window inserts, no more ice.

Best,

Mike

 

One thought I had on Mike's curtain is that the outer edges of the fleece might be attached to the window frame to reduce air infiltration.
Gary

 

Gary February 17, 2013