Curtains for energy efficiency?

Alnat1

RelievedSheff said:

Our house is really very warm so we rarely close the curtains other then the bedroom ones when we go to bed.

Might draw them tonight and see if it makes a difference!

Get all the curtains drawn at dusk, you will be surprised how much difference it makes.

pete-20-11

And if the radiator is in front of the window, tuck the curtains behind the radiator. Not easy with my bedroom radiator's position (too close to the ledge), but just about achievable. 

Scot_39

My parents used a sort of DIY upside down wooden pelmet to sit the bottom of the curtains in the living room into - to stop them interfering with the radiator below - they just wouldn't sit on the narrow sill left after inches taken by venation blinds.

Even the nets would loop out beyond the sill. Letting radiator immediately below heat window side.

Let alone heavy curtains.

As they didn't get double glazing until about 20 years ago - sure it helped bills - but no idea of figures.

RelievedSheff

Alnat1 said:

RelievedSheff said:

Our house is really very warm so we rarely close the curtains other then the bedroom ones when we go to bed.

Might draw them tonight and see if it makes a difference!

Get all the curtains drawn at dusk, you will be surprised how much difference it makes.

I would if I got home for dusk 

It is well and truly dark and cold by the time we get home from work!! 

FreeBear

RelievedSheff said:

Alnat1 said:

RelievedSheff said:

Our house is really very warm so we rarely close the curtains other then the bedroom ones when we go to bed.

Might draw them tonight and see if it makes a difference!

Get all the curtains drawn at dusk, you will be surprised how much difference it makes.

I would if I got home for dusk 

It is well and truly dark and cold by the time we get home from work!! 

Get one of them electric curtain rails, and you can set the curtains to close at set times or even use an app.

mmmmikey

Or get 2 of these and if you already have a suitable curtain pole it's ridiculously easy to automate them:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SwitchBot-Smart-Automatic-Curtain-Opener/dp/B0C6XVXPCC/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=2PTFAJM43E6D9&keywords=switchbot&qid=1705490636&sprefix=switchbot,aps,87&sr=8-4-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

On a related note, where I have curtains above a radiator, I have used a thermal blind inside the window recess in the past and that has worked well. I left the curtains hanging but permanently open to dress the window / add colour to the room.

wrf12345

I have fitted 50mm celotex insulation boards to most of my north facing bay windows, painted matt black on the outside so they don't look odd and covered by curtains on the inside, still get plenty of light via the remaining windows (I would secondary glaze them with double glazed inward opening windows but they are too large). I have also bricked up east and west facing windows as they were not needed and fitted a secondhand double-glazed door to the north facting hallway in addition to the existing dg door (and removed its radiator). That all makes a huge difference to heat loss. I do intend to remedy the bay windows by bricking up more than fifty percent and fitting smaller 28mm dg rather the existing pre fensa junk and have already got the windows off Gumtree (mismeasured), just have to find a Fensa guy as I don't want the council piking about in my residential pile and they already steal a huge amount in council tax.

MultiFuelBurner

@wrf12345 sounds delightful 🤔

MeteredOut

Might as well commit a crime and get locked up. Same experience, but no ongoing heating or food bills

Lorian

If the window curtains are made just overlapping the window cill I'd put them on the cill rather than behind the radiator when drawn. Behind stops some convection current.