Improve Your Home’s Energy Efficiency This Summer

During hot summer afternoons, many homes in the Pacific Northwest trap heat like a parked car in the sun. Brightness streams through windows, floors warm up quickly, and the air conditioner unit keeps kicking on as indoor temperatures climb.

However, it doesn’t have to be like this all the time. Our team at Smart PNW helps homeowners customize luxury window coverings that keep rooms cooler during the hottest time of year, thereby improving your home’s energy efficiency.

Windows affect indoor temperatures more than many realize. Direct sunlight coming through uncovered windows can heat up living spaces quickly, causing your cooling systems to work harder throughout the day.

Energy-efficient window shades serve as a supplemental insulation, forming a protective barrier, and block, redirect, or filter sunlight. While some shade materials reflect solar heat, others reduce glare on screens. Properly fitted shades can also regulate room temperatures, especially in rooms with large south- or west-facing windows.

Automating Your Energy-Efficient Shades

Motorized features like PowerView® Automation can further improve efficiency by allowing you to program specific shades to close automatically during peak sunlight hours. And if you’re at work or out running errands, your rooms will be more comfortable when you return.

Hunter Douglas Duette® Cellular Shades are our top-selling window covering for homeowners who want improved insulation during summer. Their horizontal honeycomb-shaped pockets trap air in the shade, reducing heat transfer and creating a cooler indoor environment.

Because these energy-efficient cellular shades also soften incoming sunlight, they make bright rooms feel more comfortable without blocking natural light entirely. They also fit closely within window frames, creating a polished look without adding visual clutter.

Sonnette® Cellular Roller Shades combine the simplicity of roller shades with the engineering of cellular window shades. Their curved fabric design features pockets that reduce solar heat gain in fine style. Hunter Douglas offers these shades in fabrics ranging from semi-opaque to room-darkening.

Additionally, many homeowners and our window fashion experts both like how these energy-efficient roller shades work in living rooms, kitchens, and open-concept areas, as they provide high-end style and no bulky layers. The softly filtered daylight keeps interiors bright without producing intense glare or excessive warmth.

Energy-efficient cellular shades and roller shades can be part of your cooler home interior strategy for the summer. But if you have ceiling fans, keep them running to improve air circulation without overworking your AC system.

You can also lower indoor temperatures by switching to LED bulbs.

Hot summer afternoons place extra strain on cooling systems, but our team at Smart PNW helps our clients design window treatments that stand up to the challenge. Visit our showroom in Tacoma, WA, contact us online to schedule a consultation, or call us at (425) 448-3279.

Smart PNW serves Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Seattle, Belleview, Ocean Shores, Puyallup, Olalla, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Bremerton, and Bainbridge Island, WA.