Patio Door Style Ideas

Bali VertiCell

Window covering manufacturers have been busy designing alternative blinds to cover large windows such as patio doors and today we have many more options that won’t break the bank. 

The most popular window covering for patio doors, however, is still vertical blinds. They provide privacy, light control and protection form the sun’s damaging rays. They are available in a limitless range of styles from value priced vinyl to high end decorative fabrics. The 3-1/2” vertical vanes draw across the window like a drapery and rotate open and closed for light control. When choosing an economical fabric or vinyl, vertical blinds are the least expensive, yet stylish way to cover a patio door.

There are some alternate solutions you may not be aware of that also provide privacy, light control and protection from the sun.

• Panel track blinds are a relatively new and innovative way to cover patio doors. Each panel rides on an individually wheeled carrier so they move effortlessly. When closed, hanging panels span the window and when open, the panels stack neatly over each. The panels are made from the same fabrics as woven wood blinds, solar shades or roman shades, so you can coordinate an entire room.
• Vertical cellular shades provide the optimum in energy efficiency. Imagine a horizontal cellular shade turned on its side that moves sideways like an accordion. An aluminum head rail and side rails hold the shade in place. The energy efficient properties of vertical cellular shades are significant enough to save on heating and cooling bills. Available in light filtering or black out fabrics, vertical cellular shades lend a contemporary flair to any room and stack very tightly to one or both sides of the shade.
• When your patio door cries out for chic sophistication, sheer vertical blinds are just the ticket. They provide a softer, more formal appearance. They’re the best of both worlds – the look of a drapery with the light control of a blind; and they’re not as expensive as you would think.

Patio door window fashions have come a long way since the advent of vertical blinds. The options are more stylish, just as practical and nearly as inexpensive.

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Take Advantage of Tax Credits

Save energy and qualify for tax credits too. A tax credit of 30% of the cost of qualifying products, up to $1,500 during the 2009 and 2010 tax years, is available for several window covering products. Any qualifying blind ordered between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010 can be claimed up to a combined total of $1500 under the Federal Tax Credit for Energy Efficiency.

The ComfortTrack Plus Energy Saving Sidetrack System by Comfortex is available for purchase online and is certified for federal tax credits for energy efficiency. The shade features an insulating honeycomb fabric with an integrated sidetrack system that seals off the gaps between the shades and windows to create a solid insulating barrier to drafts. This system is designed to reduce heat loss or gain in a house.

Windows can gain and lose heat in the following ways:

·        Direct conduction through the glass or frame

·        The radiation of heat into a house

·        Air leakage through and around the windows

When installed with light filtering double honeycomb fabric over a double-pane window, the ComforTrack Plus Insulation System forms an assembly with an R-value greater than 2.86. A material’s R-value is the measure of its resistance to heat flow. The way it works is simple: the higher the R-value, the more the material insulates.

Download the manufacturer’s Certification Statement from Comfortex.com and take it along with your receipt showing the amount spent to your tax professional to the claim a 30% credit on the cost of the system up to $1500.

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