Most skylights need some form of summer sun control. The range of skylights available vary from special double glazed panels that only let in the day light, blocking infrared heat and ultraviolet rays, to a wide range of roller shades and blinds that can be operated manually or motorised for easy operation and control.

Once you have installed effective internal and external window treatments you must use them correctly. In winter, on sunny winter days, leave windows facing the sun uncovered to let in the sunlight and warmth. This will help minimise the need to use your existing heating system. To retain warmth inside your home, close coverings on cold, cloudy days and especially at night when your heating system is running, and in summer, shade windows from the sun from sunrise to sunset keeping the sun off the house for as long as possible, Close drapes or blinds in rooms that are not occupied, Keep all doors and windows closed as much as possible to keep out hot air. If your house becomes hotter inside than outside, open it up and use the breeze to flush the hot air out, and keep the house open through the night to cool it down, ready for the next day.

Just as sunscreen protects our skin from the suns damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays, window treatments protect our room interiors. Left unprotected for a prolonged period of time, our possessions will succumb to the same fate as those of us who routinely pass on the SPF 15 sunscreen, premature ageing. That means our wood floors will bleach and dry out and the colour will fade from our paintings and oriental rugs. The degree to which products will meet your UV protection need will depend on the fabrics and product features you choose and wether your window covering is open, closed, raised or lowered.

All window coverings help defend your home against summer heat and winter cold. The design materials and construction of the window coverings discussed here enable them to make a more significant contribution to energy efficiency. Energy efficient window treatments help you to cut heat loss in winter and increase your homes cosy comfort as they slow the escape of warm air, window treatments act as insulation, covering glass to keep warm air inside. Cut infiltration of solar heat, the single largest contributor to the workload of your homes cooling system and also save money on utilities and save the natural resources used to generate energy, and save your interior fabrics, furnishings and woods from fading and deterioration.

DUETTE Shades, developed in response to the energy crisis, increase energy values at the window by 25 to 175 percent, while vertical blinds can increase window insulation by 37 to 123 percent and block 95 to 99 percent of ultraviolet (UV) light.

As we all learned in science class, sound is absorbed when it encounters a material. So if you have what musicians call a "live" room, that is, a lot of reverberations and echoes, fabric window fashions will absorb those sounds, dramatically improving your room's acoustics. If the sound is coming from outside your room, perhaps you live on a busy street or that coffee shop next door features live music every weeknight, fabric window fashions will also cut down on the intensity of those unwanted sounds, double-glazed windows also help considerably. The degree to which products will meet your sound absorption needs will depend on the fabrics and product features you choose and whether your window covering is open, closed, raised or lowered.