Fabric blinds for large bifold/patio doors? Do they help with insulation? Or use Luxaflex duette?

NeilAFawcett

We've got some new 4.5m bifold doors which we're looking to put some blinds in front of. One consideration is if the blinds will help keep the room warmer in winter. ie: Simply close the blinds on cold days and especially over nights to help keep the house warmer.

We're considering either just using regular roller blinds with fabric, OR instead use Luxaflex duette blinds which have a fabric honeycomb which are specifically suppose to help with heat loss etc.

Now, the regular roller blinds/fabric will look tidier (as all the fabric disappears into the cartridge), where as the duette blinds will hang 3-4" down below the cartridge. And then the roller blind will be far cheaper, I expect by about £500+.

So the regular fabric will look better and be far cheaper, but will the duette blinds be overall a wiser choice for the insulation and help keep that room warmer etc?

Has anyone any experience of using just a regular roller blind fabric over a large double glazed door, and did it seem to help reduce heat loss on cold days to a reasonable degree? Or has anyone any experience of the duette blinds so they can comment on how (more) effective they are?

ps: These will be morotised blinds so over winter can close and open automatically over night, so they could significantly contribute to insulating the room.

TELLIT01

Ours aren't Duett but are the pleated blinds Thomas Sanderson produce.  They were a lot more than £500 for a conservatory slightly narrower than your bifold doors.  They are extremely neat at they fit each window opening but are not motorised, which does seem like overkill for window blinds

Grumpy_chap

We have Luxaflex Duette and they are brilliant as they are almost an exact fit for the recess so when we open the blind in the morning we can feel the cool air behind the blind.

I cannot comment how it compares to a roller blind for insulation as we had louvred blinds before.  I imagine the roller blind would be better than the louvred blind and the duette better still from an insulation perspective.  Given that Luxaflex offer both roller blinds and duette blinds, why not ask them for information about the respective insulation properties for your application?

I understand that Luxaflex are owned by Hunter Douglas, as are Hillary's, Thomas Sanderson, Blinds2Go.

koalakoala

I have never found any blinds help with insulation

ispookie666

Just ordered 2 blinds from Blinds2Go - 75x 210 and 215 x 210(drop) for a 295x210cm bifold door. These are more for reducing the glare and sun into the lounge from noon till sunset

shinytop

What sort of wall are your new doors in?  Modern double glazing is quite low heat loss anyway; most likely better than uninsulated double cavity and much better than a solid brick wall.  I don't know but I wouldn't have thought blinds would make a lot of difference and if they do it would take a long time to pay back the extra £500.   I would get the blinds that look right and work best for privacy/light.  

Rosa_Damascena

Perfect fit blinds look good but I doubt have any insulating properties. They are available for bifolds: 

FaceHead

Modern double glazing is a decent insulator - blinds aren't going to add much to that, as that's not their purpose. Also a big glazed door, particularly if not facing north, gives quite significant solar gains. A blind will reduce this, and might do less than nothing in terms of keeping the need for daytime heating down.  

Rosa_Damascena

FaceHead said:

Modern double glazing is a decent insulator - blinds aren't going to add much to that, as that's not their purpose. Also a big glazed door, particularly if not facing north, gives quite significant solar gains. A blind will reduce this, and might do less than nothing in terms of keeping the need for daytime heating down.  

Its unpredictable though - I wouldn't rely on when the gains are to be made, even in the summer.

On a dull day for the other 3 seasons of the year we can predict that gains will be zero.

purplebutterfly

 I read about honeycomb/cellular blinds in my latest issue of National Geographic.  It suggests that they do have a noticeable effect, leaving rooms cooler in Summer and warmer in Winter.  Whether the brand makes a difference is not addressed in the magazine. 

There are multiple companies that offer cellular blinds - even Ikea do a version - so you can get cheaper ones, if cost is a factor (although obviously cheaper ones won't be motorised).

I'm currently comparing different versions for my own conservatory and they are variously called "cellular"  "honeycomb" or "pleated" depending who is selling them. 

example https://www.blinds-2go.co.uk/duo-blinds/20529/duolight-cotton.html

Rosa_Damascena

purplebutterfly said:

 I read about honeycomb/cellular blinds in my latest issue of National Geographic.  It suggests that they do have a noticeable effect, leaving rooms cooler in Summer and warmer in Winter.  Whether the brand makes a difference is not addressed in the magazine. 

There are multiple companies that offer cellular blinds - even Ikea do a version - so you can get cheaper ones, if cost is a factor (although obviously cheaper ones won't be motorised).

I'm currently comparing different versions for my own conservatory and they are variously called "cellular"  "honeycomb" or "pleated" depending who is selling them. 

example https://www.blinds-2go.co.uk/duo-blinds/20529/duolight-cotton.html

They look like a dust trap. How do you clean them?