Great blinds for reducing energy consumption & for darkening a room
To reduce expenses and to help protect the environment, in early 2021 our household started taking a number of measures to cut our energy consumption. Those measures have proven successful: total 2021 electricity consumption in our single-family, detached home in the US SE was about 8,000 kWh (3,200 of which was for HVAC), compared to about 11,000 kWh annual average in previous years. [UPDATE on 1/1/23: our total electricity consumption in 2022 dropped even further to just 5,500 kWh (1,600 of which was for HVAC) for the year. We have HALVED our electricity consumption. Huge savings.]Much of our attention has been on our windows. In addition to improving energy efficiency, we have thought about privacy and, in certain rooms, blocking bright light (to allow for sleep by day…). With all this in mind, we are very pleased with our Grandekor cellular shades. And they’re beautiful, as well.While researching the energy efficiency of different window coverings, we learned that cellular shades are given particularly high marks.One word of caution: open the packaging very carefully so as to avoid cutting or otherwise damaging the network of strings at the top of the unit. I was not careful – though not rash – and ended up having to figure out and fix a bowl-of-spaghetti mess of tangled strings before I could hang the shades.Here are some other products we purchased at Amazon that we can recommend to those interested in cutting home energy consumption:STATINT Window Film Privacy One Way Daytime Mirror Static Non-Adhesive Solar Glass Film Heat Control: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W3VCZNF Dramatically reduces amount of direct sunlight, gives privacy by day, and protects from shattering.RYB HOME Room Darkening Patio Door Curtain, Hanging Room Divider Screen Insulated Drapes Privacy Wall Panel: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D32DJ2V , as well as RYB HOME Blackout Curtains & Drapes - Total Privacy Thermal Efficiency Backdrop Curtains for Bedroom Room Divider Vertical Blind Living Room Patio Sliding Glass Door: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077SZRBNJAootek solar lights 120 LEDs with lights reflector, 270 degree Wide Angle, IP65 Waterproof, Security Lights for Front Door, Yard, Garage, Deck (4 pack): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NQ4L1SB , as well as Solar Lights Outdoor,WWimy 210 LED 2500LM Motion Sensor Lights with Remote Control, 3 Heads Security LED Flood Lights, IP65 Waterproof, 270° Wide Angle Illumination Wall Lights with 3 Modes (2 Packs): www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08T9F2MM1 Purchased in August 2021, these lights continue to work well here in the SE, saving us over 150 kWh/year. We shared some of these lights with relatives in the North; they also report that their lights are going strong after a rough winter.Kuman KW47-US Electricity Usage Monitor Plug Power Watt Voltage Amps Meter with Digital LCD www.amazon.com/Electricity-Monitor-Voltage-Overload-Protection/dp/B07DPJ3RGB Looking back, we can say that purchasing a Usage Monitor Plug has been one of our wisest and most useful moves, and a very inexpensive one at that.Klein Tools TI250 Rechargeable Thermal Imager: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089QW8R9S This tool, along with the Usage Monitor Plug, gave us a very good picture of where we were wasting energy. It was thanks to this tool that we realized, for example, that our then uninsulated recessed lights were really problematic, prompting us to purchase the following.FF130E Recessed Light Cover: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XVPUAO If you have recessed lights and they’re not well insulated in the attic, energy wastage can be massive. These were easy to put in, sealed with Great Stuff: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KSANBTYAcuRite Wireless Indoor Outdoor Temperature and Humidity Sensor: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T0K8NXC We got two of these to go with our AcuRite weather station. They allow us to monitor temperature and humidity in four places at once: outside, in our living room, in our crawlspace, and in our unfinished attic. Thanks to these readings, we have established a smarter, more energy-efficient way of ventilating our crawlspace. They also helped us see that our attic needed additional ventilation in the roof, prompting us to purchase the following.4 SEASONS Solar Powered Polycarbonate Vent, Weatherproof Design, Quietly Cools Up to 500 Sq Ft, 400 CFM: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DMSCPJA