Sunshine can brighten and warm your home, but it can also damage carpets, drapes and furniture. To keep your belongings from getting sun-faded, you may need to be careful with the timing of when you open your window coverings. Buying UV resistant fabrics and coverings can also help. Finally, adding tint the exterior of your windows can keep heat out and avoid sun damage indoors.
Window Treatments: Inside
There are window treatments you can add both inside and out to prevent excess sunlight from damaging your belongings. For example, from the inside out, you can add faux wooden blinds inside the window frame for nearly complete coverage when that part of your home is in full sun. You can find these blinds in either a manual format or an automated blind that you could open and close on a timer or with a remote.
Window Treatments: Outside
Add a retractable awning outside your window or your patio is an easy way to keep your house from getting too warm and protect your furniture, carpet and interior curtains. Again, timing is critical. Depending on where you live, morning light can be a nice way to warm up your space. To reduce the risk of interior damage if you need the eastern light, consider adding window tinting to those windows in particular. You can keep the window treatments open, collect light, warm up the east side of your house, and still avoid UV damage to your fabrics and fibers.
Fiber Choices
If you find that features of your home have faded over time due to sun exposure, keep an eye out for sun resistant fibers when you upgrade. For example, look for a low-nap carpet to replace any sun-damaged products. The longer the yarn fiber, the greater the expanse of material that can be damaged by the sun. Another option if you’re carpeting a room designed to soak up the sun, such as a four season room, is to use peel and stick carpet tiles that you can swap out if you do notice any sun-fading.
Letting the sun warm your home in the wintertime is actually the oldest form of solar power. However, allowing your windows to let in as much sun as possible can damage fibers, particularly older fabrics and rugs. To protect your home on hot days, the addition of window tinting can help your fight high utility bills.
