To open your curtains or keep them closed? That is the question?

The apartment I was in faced the street, and as a result I kept the curtains closed almost all the time for privacy sake.

Three years ago I switched apartments in the same building. and now look out over trees and a creek. I don’t need to worry about privacy. I keep my curtains open all the time.

The biggest heat loss for me is not the windows, but the floor. The master bedroom and the living room are over a carport that acts like a heat sink.

Open, when the sun is out in the winter on the sunny side of the house, closed on the shady side in winter.

I close the shades in my bedroom at night (I like it dark) but otherwise I let my high quality windows handle the insulation aspect. My old house is so badly insulated that the curtains being open or closed makes no difference. I like looking out at the world.

When I lived in a cold climate I opened the curtains if the sun was steaming in a particular window, but otherwise I drew the curtains to help keep the cold out. Note, that I didn’t have curtains on all of my windows, but even the blinds I did similar. Some houses I added plastic to the windows in the winter to keep out the cold.

In Florida I don’t worry about the window treatments and temperature, even though we get down to the 30’s some nights. Hard to heat a house when all vents are on the ceiling, ceilings are high, and the windows aren’t double or triple pane. Many Florida homes are fairly dark, because we often have covered patios, which blocks the sunlight.

My curtains are closed 24/7.

^^vampire.

@JLeslie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXwszwz0dF8

Mine are always open on sunny days but closed at night. I need the sunlight.

I keep the blinds closed where the windows face another apartment building, and open where I see overlook grass and trees.

I’m suspicious of the idea that curtains provide any meaningful benefit for insulating a house. I certainly could be wrong though. I imagine there is a benefit to cooling in the summer to reduce the sun’s ability to heat a room, but again, I certainly could be wrong.

I pretty much use curtains exclusively for privacy, or managing the light in a room.

The Dutch are known for having their curtains open (if they have any in the first place.
Definitely 70% or more have a “window shop window”.
A lot of houses in more populated areas are terraced houses.
I live on the eighth floor, and I don’t have curtains, in my living room, but I do have some in my bedroom (which is on the gallery/corridor side of the building) .

I don’t bother raising the blinds in my bedroom but open and close the living room ones between day and night.

Usually open unless it’s too bright (mainly, too bright to sleep or to look at screens), or there are situations such as when people build houses with views into your house.

Because we live in an area with 100 foot trees, we rarely get much direct sunlight into the house, so I like to keep windows covered.

Open, mostly.

I’ll just copy @janbb‘s answer: I don’t bother raising the blinds in my bedroom but open and close the living room ones between day and night.

@smudges I knew I should have copyrighted it! :-)

Each day is different.

My first morning waking up in my new dorm room with my new roommate at Michigan State University she pulled up the blinds early in the morning and let the bright sun in. My response as a typical teenager was, “what are you doing?” I was in my typical morning groggy state. She never did it again.

Do people do that? Immediately open the window treatments when they wake up? My eyes and body hurt thinking about it.

@gorillapaws This says the heavy curtains help. https://www.windowsonlineuk.co.uk/blog/much-curtains-help-heat-retention/ It definitely seemed like they helped. We could feel the cold coming through the window. When I lived in cold states.

@JLeslie I stand corrected. Sounds like you need heavy curtains to maximize the benefit—which is logical.

I always open the curtains when I get up in the morning and close them at night when it gets dark. I face south and catch the sun during the day. Even in winter it is quite effective at warming south facing rooms, when it is sunny that is.

I like outside light but not direct sunlight shining in. My wife worries so much about privacy that she doesn’t even like the blinds at an angle that would make it difficult to peek in.

I can’t wait to get to the point that I can install my Auggie curtains back in my dining room.
This is what it looks like now.

This is what I have for a curtain

When we moved in it was AC season. That’s a south facing window and man the sun beat in like nobody’s business! It heat the entire house up.
Now that it’s colder than a witch’s tit, I keep it open for the same reason.

Curtains closed when it is subzero. when it is brutal cold it is typically bright blue sun because it is too cold to snow.

I however do go out in the subzero temp to enjoy the sun.

North side of the house – curtains closed in winter because they don’t allow sunlight anyway.
South side, curtains open because sun comes in.

This changes in summer.