The Afternoons Are Getting Shorter. Is Your Home Ready?
One week it's light until 7 pm. The next, darkness arrives by 5 pm. As the days shorten and temperatures drop, the heater starts running earlier than you'd like.
What most households don't realise is that one of the simplest ways to keep a lid on energy bills costs nothing at all. It just requires a minor adjustment in your habits.
Windows Are Losing You More Heat Than You Think
Up to 40% of a home's heating energy can escape through windows. In Australian homes, typically built with larger glass surfaces and less structural insulation than homes in colder climates, that figure hits harder than most people expect.
Here's what's happening. Warm air moves toward cooler surfaces. When it reaches an uncovered window, it cools, sinks, and pulls more warm air down behind it. It's a continuous loop, and your heater is constantly trying to keep up. Close a curtain or blockout blind, and you stop that cycle. The room holds its temperature longer. The heater runs less. The bill reflects it.
It Comes Down to Timing
No special products required. Just a consistent habit around when you open and close your window furnishings:
Morning: Open north and east-facing curtains as soon as the sun hits them. Let the free warmth in.
Late afternoon: Close everything before the sun goes down, around 4:30 to 5 pm, through the cooler months. Don't wait until you feel the chill. By then, the heat is already leaving.
All day: Keep south-facing windows covered. They get little direct winter sun and act as a constant drain on warmth.
The key word is before. Most people close curtains reactively, once the room is already cold. Closing them ahead of sunset keeps the warmth you've built up inside rather than trying to recover it.
If you'd rather not think about it at all, motorised curtains and blinds take the habit out of the equation entirely. Set them to open and close automatically to maximise energy efficiency throughout the year. DIYBLINDS™ offers motorised options for every budget that connect to a smart hub, so the right routine runs automatically.
Build the Habit in Autumn, Benefit All Winter
The shift from long summer evenings to short autumn afternoons is sharp. Homes that were comfortable at 6 pm in February are cold and dark by 5 pm in May, and that's exactly when heating systems get cranked up.
Starting the habit now means it is embedded by the time June and July arrive. Low effort, long-term payoff.
The Window Furnishings Matter Too
Timing is free. But if your curtains are lightweight, old, or poorly fitted, they may be doing less work than you think.
Heavier fabrics and thermal-lined curtains or thermal-backed Blockout Blinds create a more effective barrier against cold glass. Honeycomb blinds trap air and slow heat transfer. Pairing curtains and blinds together on large windows adds a double layer of insulation. And fit matters: curtains that reach the floor and sit close to the wall lose far less heat than those that hang loose or stop short of the sill.
At DIYBLINDS™, made-to-measure curtains and blinds are more affordable than most people expect, and the right fit makes a genuine difference. It's a practical upgrade that pays for itself over time.
As the afternoons shorten, use it as a prompt. Check the fit. Build the habit. Let your window furnishings do the work your heater doesn't need to.