Will blackout drapes keep you cooler this summer?

With the advent of 100-plus temperatures, we’re looking for ways to keep ourselves cooler and make our air conditioning use more efficient. Hanging blackout curtains is one of the cheapest, easiest solutions imaginable.

Blackout curtains are also known as “thermal drapes” for a reason. They’re ideal for blocking light and heat from windows that get strong sun. And the best part is that contrary to popular belief, blackout curtains do not have to be black. They don’t even have to be curtains.

Types of Blackout Coverage

Simple though rather stark, roll-down blackout shades will keep out sunshine if they are properly fitted to cover the whole window. You may be able to have them custom cut to your specs.

Blackout liners may be used with your existing window treatments. Not only will they shut out the warmth of the sun, they’ll also protect your curtains from fading.

If you’re going for the real deal, you can purchase blackout drapes ready made in various lengths. However, DIY and frugal types take note: Curtains are one of the easiest sewing projects imaginable. Tailoring them yourself will let you get the precise dimensions and the look you like.

Blackout fabric is available as woven or knit in a wide variety of prints and solid colors. The material drapes well and is not especially dark in appearance, but it is lined with lightweight foam or contains a “core” of black sunblock fiber.

Whether premade or home-crafted, your blackout curtains will be washable. For extra-easy care, hang them back up while still wet so they won’t wrinkle. You’ll also save electricity by not putting them in the dryer.

How to use them

Hang the curtains to completely screen any sunny windows; they can easily be opened to admit air at cooler times. If the curtains come with a white liner, position that facing the window to reflect sun away from your room.

This will make your homeowners’ association happy as well; many of them stipulate that only white window treatments should be visible from the street. (In fact, hanging blackout drapes outside would be the best way to reduce heat transfer; however, HOAs and neighbors might not be too enthusiastic about the look.)

Be sure to close your blackout drapes or blinds well before the sun starts streaming in; don’t wait until the room has already heated up. That means east-facing windows should be covered first thing in the morning, to avoid the dawn’s early light, and west facing before the full afternoon glare.

You can spread them at less sunny times and open the windows while you’re at it, if the air has cooled down appreciably. This will give the room a chance to air out.

Renters will be glad to know that blackout curtains are cheap and easy to reuse when you move. Cut-to-measure shades are portable, but there’s no guarantee that they will be the right size for your windows, and a less-than-perfect fit tends to defeat the purpose by allowing light in.