Busters Blinds is the only Custom Window Treatment Company in Northern Michigan that is an ENERGY STAR Partner, offering the only Double Cellular Shades that were tested by the government for energy efficiency and received a 4.6 - 5 R value rating, the highest on the market! Adding Busters Blinds Double Cellular Shades can block as much as 62% of the heat transfer through a window pane, keeping interiors more comfortable year round!

You Probably Didn’t Know This:

1. Each year $1,300 is spent on home utility bills by a typical US family
2. Cooling and Heating your home each year drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home
3. Between 10-25% of your homes heat is lost through your windows
4. Energy wasted through poorly insulated windows equals the same amount of energy we receive from the Alaskan Pipeline each year
5. Due to sunny windows your air conditioning in the summer works 2-3 times harder
6. You can decrease your energy bills by 10-50 % buy using a few inexpensive, energy-efficient improvements
7. Buy making these few energy-efficient home improvements you may qualify for an energy efficiency mortgage, which allows banks to use higher-than-normal “debt to income” ratio when calculating home loan potential.
8. Energy-efficient shades can increase the resale value of your home

Seeing is Believing!

The above image shows how a typical house in the winter looses 10-25% of its heat through windows. Red is hot, blue is cold.You be the judge!

When it is that time of year to turn on your furnace, here are some seasonal heating tips that can be helpful:

1. On your south-facing windows keep window shades open during the day to allow sunlight to enter your home to warm up the rooms and closed at night to decrease the chill you may feel from cold windows.
2. Keep windows on the south side of your house clean to maximize and absorb radiant solar energy.
3. Rule of thumb for energy savings: For each degree you decrease your thermostat, you can typically save about 3 percent on your heating bill.

When it is that time of the year to cool your home, here are some seasonal cooling tips that can be helpful:

1. On a hot day shading your home can decrease the temperature indoors by as much as 20 degrees
1. Installing window shades or blinds with a white surface, facing out, reflects heat away from the house.
2. Raising your thermostat each degree on your cooling system typically can save 2% on your cooling bill. Energy experts recommend setting your thermostat at 78° F or higher.
3. Install room air conditioners on north-facing walls, so it doesn’t bake in the sun. Room air conditioners perform best when kept cool.





Understanding R-Value

What Does It All Mean? Understanding the Terminology

R-Value

You may have heard it before: R-Value. But what exactly is it and what does it mean?

Very simply, R-value is a measure of a given material’s resistance to heat flow - how well it resists heat gain or loss. In short, the higher the R-value, the better the insulation it will provide for you.

R-Value and your Windows

Your windows themselves have and R-value. A typical window has an R-value ranging from 0.9 to 3.0. (To put this in perspective, the insulation that is used to build a home today has an R-value in the low 40s).

Several factors influence the R-value of your windows:

• Type of glazing material
• Number of layers of glass
• Size of the air space between the glass layers
• Thermal resistance of the frame and spacer materials
• “Tightness” of the installation

R-Value and your Window Treatments

The window treatments you select also have an R-value. The higher the R-value, the more insulating benefits you’ll receive. Adding cellular shades to your windows can block as much as 62% of the heat transfer through a window pane.