The Sydney summer heat can be sticky and relentless for months on end, but there’s one sure way to keep out the sun’s harsh rays and cut down on your air conditioning power bills at the same time – install commercial blinds.
Many choose to wait out the heat of the day indoors, which means fans, coolers and air-conditioning units get a serious work out for months on end. In addition to ramping up your energy bills over the summer period when – let’s face it – most of us would rather spend our money enjoying the holidays, the drain on our power stations can cause blackouts on searing 40+ degree days when we need to stay cool the most.
But there’s another solution. In Sydney, commercial blinds – when properly installed – can actually keep your space cooler by up to a whopping 77 per cent. That makes blinds one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce heat and boost thermal comfort in all kinds of interiors. Here are some other tips and tricks for reducing the sun’s intensity this summer:
- Choose to place lighter coloured commercial blinds on the side of your office or home that faces the sun to reflect even more sunlight, keeping you comfortable all summer long and those power bills in check.
- The fabric you select matters, too – closed weave fabrics with plastic backing absorb the heat before it reaches your indoor space, especially if you hang the blinds as close to your windows as possible and seal them at the top with a pelmet. Roman and vertical blinds made from blackout cloth can both seal out the sun and provide much-needed insulation from the heat – and they're great for extra privacy.
- If you find the hot sun is still leaking into the room via the sides of your blinds, think about using Velcro, tape or pins to attach the material to the window frame. This will deliver a seamless and straightforward solution to keeping the area as cool as possible.
- Keep your blinds lowered all day for maximum effect. Blocking the summer glare from early morning ensures your room doesn’t slowly build up heat.
- Adding vertical blinds to your bathroom is the ideal way to cut down on the energy-zapping effects of humidity while protecting your window coverings from any water splashes. Wooden slat blinds are also a viable option for wet rooms.
- For retail and office spaces, roller shutters are the ultimate way to create a tight barrier when the Sydney heat becomes unbearable. They can be installed inside or out and add extra security as well.
- A new hybrid between horizontal and roller blinds, vision blinds overlap to keep out heat, cold and prying eyes. You can choose to have them made up with blackout materials to absorb even more heat.
- If you’re after a yearlong energy-saving solution, consider installing reversible blinds that are light on one side and dark on the reverse. This means you can reflect the sun’s rays in summer and absorb them during the winter months when you need heat the most by placing the dark side towards the window.
Instead of looking at a commercial blind install as just a cost, think about the points where the investement will pay off in the long run. Those benefits mentioned above will go a long way to recovering the cost of the installation. Employees are more productive, you save in the long run on heating and cooling expenses. If you get hit paricularly hard with sun glare it can keep customers coming back as they can have a more pleasent experince if they arent constantly squinting..
Searching for the right Sydney commercial blind solution? Call us today – we can help.