Curtains - open or closed?

[TheMindfulMum]

So in the summer, during the really hot weather, we were advised to keep curtains closed to keep a room cool. Now the colder days are on their way, does it make any difference to the temperature of a room if the curtains and blinds are left closed during the day?

The windows are double glazed if that makes any difference and are all in reasonable condition. The curtains around the house are quite thick. In the children's bedrooms they both have blackout blinds too as well as the curtains.

I have wooden window frames and closing the curtains makes a huge difference. It's really windy today and I can feel the cold coming in the patio doors but also can't face working with the curtains shut!

I’d assume closed curtains, simply because they stop the draught? It’s really noticeable when you have a curtain over an external door. One of my window frames seems to have slipped and there’s a tiny gap exposing the outdoor world so I’ve kept that blind shut and it’s definitely making a difference.

It does make a difference, but the last time I did it in the winter an elderly neighbour asked if someone had died!

I open ours, but we get the sun at the back in the morning and at the front in the afternoon. Even with double glazing and privacy film, we still get some free warmth from the sun. I do shut them as soon as we can once the sun sets. Even a cloudy day, can make a room seem warmer by just brightening the space.
Windows are opened for fresh air for around 30mins or on vent for a bit longer.

Even double-glazed windows will allow heat a chance to escape, a set of heavy curtains will form a barrier that limits the flow of air from the main room to the window. But honestly, I’d rather be a bit cold than have the curtains closed all day when I was in, it would just feel dingy and depressing to me.

I agree! It would be a very gloomy house to work in with no natural light! I was thinking more abjure upstairs and the bedrooms which aren't in use during the day. My son has two external walls in his bedroom and I can feel how chilly it is in there today so I've kept the blind down and curtains drawn but I don't know if it's really going to make any difference. By bedtime tonight it will be noticeably cold in his room without the heating on which we're avoiding but I know this is nothing and we've not even got cold yet by winter standards!

We had that last winter so I stuffed the gap with kitchen roll! I think there are more professional things to buy than that though if you did want to plug the gap and stop the draft. It turned out to be a hinge that had gone so we got that fixed in the spring (thankfully!!)

I agree, I like daylight and find dark and gloomy rooms can impact upon my mood. This was more about bedrooms and making bedtime for the kids are bit more bearable. If it helps I'll keep their curtains and blinds shut.

Keeping the curtains shut would keep the house warmer but then you have the issue of being in the dark and needing lights on which in this economy costs a small fortune!

Oooo I’m going to try that, thank you! It’s the hallway window so not really seen inside or out so it doesn’t have to look pretty ☺️