You can start at your windows to go "Green". Research the word "window" and you'll find that it comes from a Norse word "vindauga," which was formed from two words "vindr", meaning "wind," and auga, which meant "eye." So window once meant "wind-eye," -- a description of a window's function of letting in both air and light.

Today’s sealed double-pane windows do a good job of preventing unwanted air flow. However, closed windows still offer very little resistance to the flow of light or heat. Windows are, in fact,“energy holes.” Compared to the well-insulated walls and roofs of modern homes, standard double-pane windows allow 10 to 15 times more heat energy to flow through them. So, despite the fact that windows make up only about 10% of a home’s insulated shell, up to 50% of the home’s heating and cooling energy pours through them.

Installing energy efficient window fashions in your home can reduce heating, cooling and lighting energy needs in three significant ways:
1. Reduce heat flow (heat loss and heat gain) through the windows.
2. Control solar heat (heat energy from the sun) by allowing it in winter but reducing it in summer.
3. Enhance daylighting (the use of natural light) by diffusing and dispersing sunlight deep into a room.

Want to learn which products that are best for your individual needs, and how the climate can impact your choice of window covering? Contact Barbara MacIntire at Lux West Interiors in Telluride. She'll tailor everything you need to your personal tastes and lifestyle and help make your home a little greener while she's at it.