People who’ve installed thermal curtains/blinds, how effective are they?
Posted by coffeewalnut08@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 43 comments
In this freezing weather and having done more research into thermal curtains, I thought I’d ask this. I’ve seen some complaints about cold homes and have suggested this as an option for those looking to insulate. But I actually want to know how effective they are, from people who’ve actually bought and installed them?
I don’t have thermal blinds, just ordinary ones, but I notice even they help with keeping the draught out a little in winter.
Rooms feel ever so slightly toastier if I keep blinds down all day, but they’re just ordinary ones.
So I was wondering if thermal ones make a bigger/more noticeable difference?
They sound like they offer great value for money + convenience if their effectiveness is as high as I’ve heard.
ameliasasa@reddit
I have thermal in my living room and a Roman blind. I can certainly tell the difference with thermal curtains Vs. Last year when I just had the blind.
Noise isn't so much of an issue however I can no longer feel a draught coming through past the blind.
I wouldn't - not have - thermal curtains now. For reference I live in a very warm new build that has underfloor heating and I can still tell the difference. Worth every penny in my opinion.
little7bean@reddit
what abt in the summer. i’m looking into them bc my room turns into a greenhouse at 6am and it’s so hot and humid. would it keep my room cooler
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
That’s reassuring!
darthcaedus81@reddit
Put thermal curtains up last year on the single glazed door that goes to the ancient lean-to / conservatory (gotta be 25 years + old) and it made a huge difference. It's probably 5 degrees colder behind them than it is in the room.
Do it, you won't regret the cost.
ReactionSmart6115@reddit
What company did you go with??
darthcaedus81@reddit
The better half bought them, Dunelm maybe.
ReactionSmart6115@reddit
Thanks man, I’ll try and find them!
ConseilsHabitat@reddit
I don’t personally have thermal curtains at home, but from what I see and from common feedback, they can make a noticeable difference, just not in a magical way.
What they mainly do is reduce heat loss near the window by creating an extra air barrier. So people often feel fewer cold draughts and a more stable temperature close to the window area.
The difference is usually more noticeable if the window is large or poorly insulated, the curtain is thick and well lined or it fits properly and covers the window fully.
They won’t turn a cold room into a warm one on their own, but many people find the room feels less cold and more comfortable, especially in winter evenings.
As you noticed with standard blinds, keeping something closed in front of the window already helps. Thermal curtains just do that job better, at the cost of less daylight during the day.
For value for money, they’re often seen as a good complementary solution, especially if replacing windows isn’t an option.
moon-bouquet@reddit
The quickest thing I found effective was insulating the front door - a keyhole cover for the non-deadlock, an indoor letterbox cover and a padded curtain with a weighted hem over the lot.
LarstCharnc3@reddit
Very random that this is precisely what im doing. Amazon should be bringing the keyhole cover this week, i was surprised in how much cold air gets through.
moon-bouquet@reddit
I used a foam earplug in the interim!
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
Ah yes, a bad front door is definitely noticeable.
Isgortio@reddit
I have a "porch" type area between my front door and kitchen, where there should really be an extra door but there isn't. It's about 1.2m long. I put up a thermal curtain where the door should be when I moved in because the front door was rubbish, and it made the house a lot warmer and kept the heat in.
I replaced the front door after a few months and I was able to keep more heat in but there are windows that let in a lot of light (including car headlights) and it is opposite my bedroom, so I kept the curtain up to block the light when I'd go to bed. It was a bit chilly in that area but not too bad.
I've since added a new, thicker curtain and I've kept the previous one up there too. It can be nice and warm in my home, and then when I open the curtain to get to the front door it feels like I'm stepping into a fridge. So it's definitely creating a barrier. It makes a difference in the summer too, I kept the curtain shut during the daytime when we had hot weather and even though I had the sun coming through the windows the heat was only in that section, after I passed the curtain it was much cooler indoors.
I have standard curtains that have a thermal layer on them in my bedroom and living room, I can feel the difference when I open the curtains in the winter and get blasted with cool air that was trapped between the curtain, window and wall. They also block out a lot of light.
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the feedback
nuisance_squirrel@reddit
7 years without curtains on a big north facing window, finally got round to sorting that this year, rails and thermal/blackout curtains (dunelm ones) from vinted and its made a massive difference.
Will also vouch for thermal door curtains making a big difference
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
Nice
greggery@reddit
Definitely worthwhile getting
mellonians@reddit
Very. The real key is having the thermal curtains tuck just behind the radiator. Stops the heat sitting behind them and projects it into the room. Those little sash type blinds are thermal as well and they're great for blacking out too!
Also with the curtains in the lounge we have patio doors so have the curtains go all the way to the floor. What I'd Love to do is have a curtain go across the front door but my wife is not keen.
sssstttteeee@reddit
I've got composite shutters in all rooms, they make a huge difference. Bedrooms have curtains too. Was made to measure didn't didn't cost that much.
InspiringGecko@reddit
I've never had thermal blinds, but thermal curtains are very effective.
PuzzleheadedFold503@reddit
I have 2x 120x160cm sash windows, single glazed.
One has a thermal curtain velcro'd to the outside frame, shutting it out.
The other has clear film stretched across the frames as a second layer to trap air.
Room is 3-4 celsius warmer on average each morning.
Still cold, but not freezing.
Saves probably £2-3 of heating each day?
It really adds up.
decentlyfair@reddit
We had thermal curtains to keep the heat out during summer and they were also heavy blackout curtains too. I have moved and will be repurposing them into blinds.
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
I've heard they also work well to keep extreme heat out in summer!
Honestly that might be worth a look into, as the cold is manageable for me in winter here but my rooms do get stuffy in summer.
decentlyfair@reddit
We used to get full sun on our bedroom in summer so it was unbearable, the blackout/thermal curtains helped a lot.
CuttinThruTheCRAP@reddit
I wouldn't be without them. We have open plan downstair with just archways instead of doors. We have thermal curtains between each archway and one at the foot of the stairs in the hallway. We don't use central heating, instead we have a large 9kw multifuel stove in the kitchen, which provides heat for the whole house. We open and close the curtains depending upon were we want the heat and they really do work, making a huge difference when its very cold. I have just fitted a large thermal roller blind in my office, the difference here is incredible up to 5 degrees C without any additional heating. Now of course you have to put the heat in to start with, but they definitely will retain it. I wouldn't go for anything too expensive you can get relatively cheap ones off Amazon and to be honest even a couple of reasonable quality regular window curtains sewn together back to back around the edges, can be very effective as they trap a "pocket" of air between and act as a very good insulator.
By way of example its currently 1.5C outside. We have the fire lit just slumbering. Its 23.8 in kitchen at moment, if I was to close the curtain it would get to 27 to 30 in less than 30 minutes.
Hope this helps - Keep warm!
AshamedNetwork777@reddit
For what they cost, I don't think it makes that much of a difference. Just get some thick and dark curtains
External-Praline-451@reddit
They don't cost that much from places like Dunelm. We got a thermal door curtain and a blind from there and it didn't cost that much at all.
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
Fair, I mean I think anything that covers the window tends to help. Whether it’s curtains, blinds, shutters. But some help more than others.
Less_Mess_5803@reddit
Anything is better than nothing but then it becomes annoying issue of diminishing returns. 5x thicker curtains don't mean 5x the warmth as the 1x curtain will stop the draughts which is the main cause of cooling, you want a trapped layer of air between the window and curtain, that's all insulation does.
SecTeff@reddit
I have thermal blinds in my sash windows and it makes a big difference.
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
I’d imagine it helps especially as sash windows tend to be big and lose a lot of heat
SecTeff@reddit
Yea I got the thermal hexagon one from blinds2go totally kills any draft. I’ve got one of their thermal roller blinds as well as the council installed an LED light right outside my bedroom and that doubles up as a black out blind too.
Would recommend them as a company
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
I used to use those draught excluder snakes in a previous poorly insulated property- they kept out some draught but they seem clunky and take up space lol. The idea of insulating curtains/blinds seems more "sleek" in comparison.
GeggingIn@reddit
Have a thermal blind in a window above the bed. It used to be absolutely freezing so it has made a huge difference in there.
They are not too bad if you buy in one of the hundreds of sales at Blinds2Go.
hideyourarms@reddit
There was a discussion about this yesterday which might provide additional information: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/s/F7s4IwDQSY
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
Oh right, genuinely didn't see that thread!
becca413g@reddit
Enough that it feels worth the money I spent when on a low income. Even if it’s just cutting the draft which is making it feel warmer rather than having any meaningful temperature difference it still feels worth the money.
nightfire_83@reddit
Very efficient. And also door curtains, especially if in an older house
Accomplished-Map1727@reddit
Very effective.
We have floor to ceiling lined curtains at every window and door around the house. My wife stitched an extra layer of lining in to each curtain (so they're treble lined)
I also had cavity wall insulation done, along with suspended floor insulation.
Most evenings I'm sat round 23 to 24 degrees, and it used to be a chilly 19 degrees with the heating on!
I think the thermally lined curtains over all my "glazed" areas, is responsible for 2 degrees of that.
My boir comes on on every 90 mins to heat heat the house, it used to come on every 20 mins.
It will make a massive difference to the heat retnion an thermal comfort of your house an save your heating bills.
Tip: Try to get the curtains to fit as closely to the wall as possible (so there's no air gaps around the curtain) I use a long price of wood to hold it against the wall.
coffeewalnut08@reddit (OP)
Fair enough. I’ve heard some poor reviews from cavity wall insulation but I guess it depends on how well the job was done. That’s good to hear though!
Accomplished-Map1727@reddit
We had the grey bed insulation (after much reaserch) it's made a big difference and we've had no problems.
Unfortunately, the older CWI installs with different materials caused a lot of problems and that reputation is still around today.
Trigg_UK@reddit
Very effective.
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