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Month: December 2019

Window Shutters are Energy Efficient

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window shutters

When considering window shutters in Panama City Beach, FL, many homeowners are attracted to the classic style and panache that window shutters offer, but they are unsure about how energy efficient window shutters are.

Energy efficiency is of great concern to every homeowner. Whether you home is in the coldest areas of the country during the winter months or the hottest areas of the country during summer months, you want your home to be as energy efficient as it can be.

While windows and doors are a key aspect of increased energy efficiency (approximately 30% of a home’s energy loss is through its windows), so are the window coverings that you choose to use in your home. Window covering add an extra layer of energy efficiency that can result in even lower power usage and energy costs.

Window shutters are especially good at providing that extra layer of insulation for windows. They work well because they enclose the frames of windows, effectively creating a seal on the windows. Additionally, the way that window shutters are constructed makes them able to resist heat transfer very well.

One of the things that you’ll want to note when you’re consider window shutters is their R-Value. The higher the R-Value on a window shutter, the better it will resist heat transfer and the better it will insulate a window.

R-Value is a measurement that you may be used to seeing on windows and doors. But most window covering have R-Values as well. R-Value measures the degree to which material slows the movement of heat from one side to the other side. Window shutters generally have an R-Value between 3 and 6, which is very good.

Different types of window shutters offer different levels of insulation and energy efficiency. While all window shutter are energy efficient, some types of window shutters offer better energy efficiency than others.

The best-insulating window shutter choice is window shutters that are made with faux wood. Faux wood is a material that looks like wood, but is actually manufactured using PVC or vinyl. Window shutters made with faux wood have a hollow core within the frame (as opposed to wood window shutters, which have a solid core within the frame) that creates an air pocket that makes it resistant to heat transfer.

This creates an insulating effect that is similar to wrapping your windows in plastic to simulate a bubble that completely blocks out the temperature outside, keeping the inside of your home warm and toasty in the winter and cool and comfortable in the summer.

The only drawback with faux wood window blinds when compared with wood window blinds is that faux wood window blinds don’t have the exact same sturdiness as wood window blinds. Although they are very durable, there is a limit to how large a single faux window shutter frame can be. Therefore, faux wood window shutters are an excellent choice for small windows and medium-sized windows.

To have the best of wood and faux wood window shutters, which will enable you to have window shutters installed in the largest windows of your home, you can select wood core faux wood window shutters.

Wood core faux wood window shutters different from faux wood window shutters in that, instead of the core of the frame being hollow, it is filled with wood. This makes the frame more stable and gives it more sturdiness.

If you’d like learn more about window shutters in Panama City Beach, FL, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm. You can visit our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can contact us at (850) 613-6228.

Different Styles of Window Blinds

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Window blinds

Window blinds in Panama City Beach, FL can enhance how your home looks and feels. There are many different styles of window blinds that you can choose from to help make the unique statement you want to make with your home.

Window blinds styles include wood window blinds, panel track window blinds, vertical window blinds. Each of these offers attractive benefits for the décor and style of your home.

Wood window blinds are a popular option for homeowners. They give your home a very classic look and they offer functionality that makes them a very good choice. Wood window blinds have horizontal slats, in many width sizes, that you can tilt to give you complete control over light filtering and privacy for your home.

Wood window blinds also have other features that make them an attractive choice. Wood window blinds come in bold and rich colors (they can be painted any color you want). They are manufactured with real wood or faux wood materials. The most widely-used materials and finishes for wood window blinds are bamboo, basic basswood, faux wood, exotic basswood, and high-gloss basswood.

Wood window blinds are a perfect choice for bathrooms, dens, and bedrooms.

A benefit of faux wood window blinds is that they give you the classic look of wood, but they are moisture-resistant, unlike wood, and will not warp and rot over time in high-humidity climates.

Some homeowners prefer wood window blinds to wood shutters because they offer a similar look, but window blinds offer more fine-tuned light control, since they can also be raised and lowered, whereas shutters, unless the panels are opened horizontally, permanently cover windows.

Vertical window blinds are most commonly used by homeowners on sliding glass doors, since they can be easily opened or their slats can be tilted to the left or right to achieve the right amount of light filtering in the room.

However, vertical window blinds are also an excellent choice for sliding windows and wide windows (such as picture windows, bay window, or bow windows).

The benefits of vertical window blinds are many. They are easy to operate. They bring a very modern look and feel to rooms where they are installed. They are manufactured in materials that make control privacy and light very easy.

Rooms that work well with vertical window blinds are sunrooms, living rooms, and great rooms, since these rooms most often have larger windows than other rooms in your home.

Vertical window blinds come in two different styles. One of these is panel track blinds. The other is XL vertical blinds.

Panel track vertical window blinds offer full coverage of windows, and they are a modern alternative to drapes. Equipped with very wide panels, they have a seamless design that makes them simple to open and close. They operate on a track that makes them glide with ease as they are closed and opened.

XL vertical window blinds are an excellent choice for oversized windows. Many businesses used XL vertical window blinds in their conference rooms and reception areas. They have extra wide slats that tilt fully, allowing maximum privacy and light control.

XL vertical window blinds are manufactured in many types of materials and colors, which make them a great choice if you’re looking to update the décor of room with an oversize window or sliding glass door.

If you’d like to learn more about styles of window blinds in Panama City Beach, FL, you can speak with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm. You can come to our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can call us at (850) 613-6228.

Window Coverings: Part of the Recipe for Good Sleep

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window covering

When considering a window covering in Panama City Beach, FL for the windows in your home, you might be focused on look or feel, instead of practical functionality. While this may be okay in most of the rooms in your home, the window coverings that you choose for your bedroom should be carefully considered and chosen.

Your bedroom should be optimized for good sleep. Neuroscientific research is revealing just how costly poor or inadequate sleep is for us, in terms of our physical health, our mental health, and even our safety and the safety of other people.

Poor or inadequate sleep is a factor that could lead to the development of dementia. During restorative sleep, harmful toxins are swept out of the brain, reducing the opportunity for cellular and synaptic damage to occur.

Physical health can be adversely affected by poor or inadequate sleep. Medical research has shown that cardiovascular problems and poor quality of sleep often have a direct correlation.

Poor or inadequate sleep can also be deadly. Many fatal accidents at work are because of sleep deprivation. People who work night shifts are more likely to not have good quality sleep during the day, so they present a danger to themselves and others. Many of the fatal traffic accidents that occur between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. involve people who have worked a night shift.

So, it’s important that we make sure our bedrooms aren’t sabotaging our sleep. There are several ways we can do this.

One way is to shut out all the blue light in our bedrooms. Digital devices are the main culprit for blue light, but most of them now have a nighttime mode that changes the light to an amber color. We should have that turned on. However, blue light can also come from lightbulbs that have a blue “daylight” color. These should be switched out with warmer light bulbs, such as warm white or soft white bulbs.

Another way to make our bedrooms more sleep-friendly is make sure the bedroom is a cool temperature. Between 60 and 67 degrees is the optimal temperature to get a good night’s sleep. Many times, we keep our homes too warm, especially during the winter, and, as a result, we don’t sleep as well as we should.

Adjusting the thermostat lower is one way to accomplish this. But having insulating cellular window coverings or motorized window coverings can help regulate temperature inside our homes – and bedrooms – during the day, so the house stays at a consistently cooler temperature, which is more energy efficient.

Another way to optimize your bedroom for good sleep is to block out any noises that could disturb your sleep. One way to do this is to run a fan while you are sleeping. Another method ofr blocking out unwanted noise is to have a white noise playing while you’re sleeping.

One thing that disturb sleep is messiness and clutter. Keep your bedroom clean. Make sure dirty clothes are tucked into a hamper. Clean clothes should be neatly put away in closets and drawers. Avoid overcrowding furniture surfaces and walls with knickknacks and pictures.

Finally, make sure your bedroom is dark, so that good sleep is easily induced. Having room-darkening or blackout window coverings installed in your bedroom will make sure that no unwanted light from outside comes in to disrupt your sleep.

If you’d like learn more about sleep-inducing window coverings in Panama City Beach, FL, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm. You can visit our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can contact us at (850) 613-6228.

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