INSULATING ROMAN SHADES
Insulating Roman shades were the product we began our business with in 1988. We developed them due to a problem we had in our home: Back in those days, we heated mostly with wood, and when the winter temperatures fell there was nothing we could do to stay warm in the rooms furthest away from the woodstove. The heat was going right out the windows, even though we had just replaced them all with brand new thermopane. When we turned on the oil furnace, we were all too aware of our energy dollars flying out the window too.
We did some research and found an insulating material called Warm Window. This great stuff has 4 layers to reduce heat loss including high density needled holo fibers to reduce heat loss by conduction; a reflective polyethelyne moisture barrier to reduce heat loss by infiltration; a metallicized mylar with air-trapping fibers to prevent heat loss by radiation; and a white or ivory lining with a soil-resistant finish.
We covered the Warm Window with a beautiful decorative fabric and sewed some Roman shades. These fold up into nice accordion pleats that make an attractive window dressing and also let all of our light and view in during the day when they are raised. At night, we lower the shades to keep the cold out.
Initially we did not seal the edges of our shades because we have very lovely woodwork around the windows. However we soon became aware of the cold air that was leaking in around the edges of our shades, so we developed a method of locking that cold out by adding hinged moldings of wood that are beautifully made and finished to closely match the window trim.
We were very very pleased with how comfortable and warm we were feeling, and with how much money we were saving on heating fuel. When our neighbor said, "These are great! Can you make me some of these?" our business was born.
Over the years, as we made and installed hundreds of these shades, we have done some experimenting with materials and design. We like to make the shades with the wooden moldings to seal the edges because this is the most energy efficient (an R value of 7 on a single-pane window, by the way) and aesthetically pleasing. We also have used the magnetic edge sealing system developed by Warm Window for the same purpose. Some people just don't want to attach anything at all to the trim around their windows. If that's the case, we can still use the warm Window lining and, although there's air leakage around the edges, it's still a very warm window covering.
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