Kids left early and since the shades had been delivered yesterday that was our today project! Of course I meant mostly Hubby's, but I did assist, handing tools and such.
They are solar and custom only due to the odd sizes of our windows (3) at 51" W X 48" L and the two doors are 36" W X 82" L. When our waffle fabric ones were bought right after the room was completed after Hurricane Charley, it had been a screen porch prior to that, they were $1600 for those Levolor blinds, would you believe in 2004! Nearly fourteen years later these no cord solar Bali shades are on sale for $741.90 including tax, but wait there's more! A week after I ordered them, they went on sale again and so now Home Depot will be giving me back the difference off of $129.72 of the sale price that will be bringing the grand total to... drum roll please of...$612.18! Nearly a third of the price of the original ones bought fourteen years ago! And more sleek and easier to adjust, and clean too! Damp cloth or vacuum is all that is needed. We do not pull the door ones down all of the way, but if we want to we do have that option. That room also had the window tinting replaced in the spring so in the hot, hot, hot summer that room is cooler than most other sunrooms, but when winter comes, that is if it ever does... that room allows for the sun to heat it and much of the rest of the house
and so that basically shuts our electric central system off due to it not being needed to run that often, yay!
Utility smart, with the way things are, they will pay off themselves in no time flat, not unlike the new heating/ air system that we had gotten a year and half ago, since then our electric bills have been cut in half ! And all our other appliances that are more efficient, like our new forty gallon hot water heater, our stackable new washer and dryer, and our new stainless steel kitchen appliances are all that more efficient type, and our bills have diminished sharply! And no we did not just go out on a wild buying spree these were all well used/ used up products that had had long lives; some were well over twenty years old and they were ready for replacement due to being broken down or not working right any longer. Sadly all within the last two years. So I do believe now that we do have a very efficient home.
At one time from 2005 when our pool went in until a few years ago we did have solar panels on our roof to heat the pool, but not even with another hurricane one day they just blew off! And so we never did replace them. We do have a solar blanket that lies on the top of the water, but we do not really need that in Florida, especially these days!
Solar roof panels have been considered since our home's backyard faces south, still not too sure though. Some say we are able to acquire government subsidies and some say we do not qualify. We are all for cost effectiveness, as all of us should be, so we will wait on that to be sure.
And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!
PS Those striped painted wooden valances over the shades Hubby and I made years ago for the old blinds. I almost got rid of them with the new ones, since I had the option of adding coordinating white valances, but at $36 each I nixed the idea. Hubby had cut the wood with his router that time (My idea of an old fashioned awning design) and I painted them with Frog tape for the lines. That was when Frog tape was one of those new fangled things!
