Are solar curtains a new gadget or just old fashioned common sense?
Well, that depends on which type of these curtains you’re talking about.
There are actually two different variations of solar energy curtains and they each attempt to accomplish very different things.
The first type of curtain takes advantage of a pretty simple idea. It uses a reflective material to keep sunlight from entering your home and heating things up like a solar oven.
This is an idea we have looked at before with solar window shades and solar window screens. The only difference with these curtains is the reflective nature of the material.
Solar Reflective Curtains
Sun reflecting curtains can make it look like your windows have been covered in tin foil or some other ‘space-age’ material (as the infomercials say).
Although this might not be exactly the look you’re going for, you should be able to save some money on air conditioning costs. The idea is that the shiny material reflects the sun’s light so it doesn’t get the chance to enter your home and get converted into heat energy.
Less heat in your home means that your air conditioner won’t have to run as often and you’ll save money on your electric bill.
It is also claimed that these curtains can prevent heat loss during winter. This is accomplished by reversing the curtain so the heat reflects back in and doesn’t escape from your house.
These shiny solar curtains may not be as exciting as a new solar electric array on your roof but here are two things they have going for them:
- They are cheap. These curtains are featured on eBay for $19.99 so even if they don’t live up to your high expectations, you’re only out a few bucks.
- They’ve got good user reviews. Though it’s easy to suspect that not all of a product’s reviews are genuine, it still seems that solar curtains have satisfied quite a few real customers.
Overall, these reflective curtains seem like a cost-effective way to add a little energy efficiency to your home. In case you’re interested in a more high-tech window covering, let’s take a look at solar curtains that actually produce electric power.
Solar Curtains To Power Your Home
Are you looking for a more high-tech solar power curtain that won’t just save you energy but will actually produce power? Well in that case, there are some interesting options for you to take a look at.
Konarka Technologies was one of the early players in the solar power curtain market. The company’s ‘solar curtain wall‘ covered the entire side of a building with plastic solar film encased in glass. This installation was expected to provide 1.5 kW of power. Unfortunately, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2012 but they did help to further the solar power curtain concept.
Another option comes from a company called SolarGaps. This company created solar blinds that consist of solar panels. SolarGaps CEO Yevgen Erik explains “The idea to combine solar panels and blinds struck me when I saw sunflowers in the field turning to face the sun”.
Check out this video to see how the blinds produce power and store it for later use:
Another version of curtains that produce solar power comes from SolarCurtain.co. The company uses photovoltaic cells which have a 22% efficiency. The company also claims that the fabric used in the solar curtains helps control the temperature of your home and is easy to clean.
Although these high-tech variations of solar curtains sound like a pretty cool idea, they will definitely be more expensive than the reflective foil curtains. You may also want to be patient and allow for some real world results to see if these high tech curtains provide a good return on investment.
It’s still great to see this kind of innovative use of solar panels. The history of solar panels has shown us that this kind of creative thinking is how we move the industry forward!