By Tim Meredith

With so many people working from home, tempers aren’t the only things flaring … so are our energy bills. We’re doing a lot more streaming, leaving on more lights, and turning up the heat. But with a few simple changes, you can save money — if not your sanity — by making your home more energy-efficient.

Here are some simple ways to cut your utility costs by switching your thermostat, unplugging not-in-use appliances, checking your windows, conserving water, and changing some habits.

Invest in a Programmable Thermostat

Programmable thermostats allow you to control your home’s temperature automatically by setting your heating and cooling around your daily schedule. This saves you money and maintains a comfortable temperature while you’re at home and when you’re away.

Programmable thermostats are affordable. They’re often on sale and utility companies like Pacific Gas and Electric offer rebates on smart thermostats to help lower the cost even further.

Unplug!

Take a look around your home and you’ll likely spot energy vampires. Those electrical monsters that suck up your energy and are partly to blame for those soaring energy bills. We’re talking about televisions, video game consoles, lamps, appliances, and computers.

The biggest energy vampire in your home? Your DVR box. Digital recording boxes waste billions in electricity each year.

When you’re not watching your TV, unplug it. The same goes for the toaster. Also, unplug the phone charger from the wall once the phone is fully charged. And use the laptop while you’re on a Zoom call because it will use less energy than a desktop computer.

Check Windows and Seal Cracks

Inspect your windows and seal any cracks or leaks around your home. It’s a cheap way to lower your energy costs.

Go a step further and add a window film like Thinsulate. The insulated window film not only keeps you cozy in the chilly winter months in Northern California, but cool in the summer as well. And the savings are pretty significant — up to 10% on your energy costs.

Conserve Water

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the average family of four uses 400 gallons of water a day. Turn off the faucet while you’re brushing your teeth. That simple tip alone can save you up to 8 gallons of water.

Other ideas to reduce water waste? Wash clothes in cold water, fix any toilet leaks, and water your lawn early in the morning or late at night in the summer.

You also can reduce your water usage by planting native plants such as California fuchsia or milkweed. Native plants practically grow themselves. They’ll thrive and flourish for seasons to come without extra water or maintenance.

Replace Bulbs

Swap out those incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs for LEDs for one of the most affordable and easiest ways to reduce energy costs. The LED bulbs last longer, and by just replacing five bulbs with Energy Star-approved LED bulbs, you can save up to $100 a year on your energy bill.

No Peeking While Baking

Resist the urge to open the oven while that apple pie or casserole is baking. Every time you open the oven door to take a peek, the temperature can drop 25 degrees, causing your oven to use even more energy to bring the temperature back up to the initial setting.

Co$t-Efficient

We’ve focused on the most cost-effective ways to save you energy and money.

Sure, you could add solar panels or install triple-pane windows to cut down on your heating and electricity costs. While those improvements will save you in the long term, you’ll have to own your home for a while to recoup the investment. By insulating your windows with window film, you’ll see the savings immediately.

Call us and we’ll help you make your home more energy-efficient! We work all over the San Francisco Bay Area. Call Window Works customer care at 415-650-5200 for pricing and more information.

Tim Meredith is an eco-friendly landscaper and freelance writer who started mowing lawns as a teenager to earn extra cash. He uses only organic pest control and fertilizers, solar accent lights, and electric lawn mowers.

As part of our ten-year anniversary monthly specials, we’re proud to announce the discount for March. Small businesses and home owners will get a 10% discount on anti-graffiti film for the month of March. Let us know that you saw the discount here and we’re happy to apply it! If you’ve never heard of anti-graffiti film, you’re in for a nice surprise. 

Get Ready for Spring Cleaning

It’s always a good feeling to get spring cleaning done, to get fresh air into our homes and businesses. And to declutter all the unnecessary items that have been dragging down our energy. In case you’re also cleaning your big windows, why not also protect them from scratches and paint? Anti-graffiti film also protects your glass from being gouged, scratched or etched. And replacing the film is much more affordable than replacing a big pane of glass!

We’ve written about anti-graffiti film before and you might like these articles:

• Anti-Graffiti Film Can Protect and Preserve Your Windows
• Anti-Graffiti Film Can Save Your Glass

Prepare Your Storefronts

Storefronts need love, just as much as those dark closets in the back of the building. The storefront is the first thing that people see, so curb appeal is critical. You might have been away from your business or home due to the events of the last year, so it’s even more important now than ever to get ready.

Foot Traffic is Coming

While Covid isn’t over yet, customers will soon be hungry for your products and services. Why not get ready for them now? We predict a huge onslaught of customers very soon, and those who are the most prepared will get the most benefit. A beautiful storefront will surely bring in more customers! Some may be walking by and seeing your store for the first time in over a year. For more tips about curb appeal, we like HGTV’s ideas about curb appeal.

Protect Your Investment

You’ve put your time, money, and energy into your business or home. So protect it! If you have questions about where to start with window film, please give us a call. We’d love to discuss all the ways we can protect your business, your home, and your peace of mind. Here’s our number for your convenience: 415.650.5200.

Recently on our Twitter account, we ran a poll asking about least favorite windows. We figured maybe the living room or kitchen would win, but those who answered said the bathroom was their least favorite. Of course, this is by no means a scientific or comprehensive poll with 15 replies. Still, we thought we’d run with it since the living room was not even close! And we have plenty of solutions for bathroom windows.

You can see the poll here:

The bathroom won the poll with the least favorite windows! Would you have guessed? #Windows pic.twitter.com/AIpDlfY8it

— Window Works USA (@WindowWorksUSA) February 3, 2021

That got us to thinking. How could people improve their bathroom windows? And then faster than a lightning bolt, we got the answer–window film! And actually, we’ve already applied window film to many bathroom windows, as you can see above. Also, we’re running a special on Fasara window film for February for our small business and residential customers.

Why Window Film?

As you can see in the images above, you can gain privacy with window film. The light still shines through and you can see around the edges (if you’re that kind of person), but all in all, your privacy is protected. Since light is so scarce in many places in the San Francisco Bay Area, you probably don’t want to cover your windows with heavy drapes that will make your home or business even darker. You can have light plus privacy. In other words, it’s possible to have your cake and eat it, too.

Window Film Adds Design without Clutter

The problem with other solutions to ugly bathroom windows is clutter. We all have limited space, it seems, and window film doesn’t give you bulky curtains that can attract dust, spiders, or look cluttered. Window film is clean and adds a fab design element to your bathroom. Take a look at some of the newest 3M Fasara finishes. They’re beautiful, right? That Sensai Linen is a dream!

Window Film is Like Sunglasses for Your Bathroom

Sunglasses can be a fashion accessory and your bathroom needs to be chic, too! But besides looking cool, window film protects your skin from UV light which has been known to cause skin cancer. If you want to know more, check out this article from the Skin Cancer Foundation: Not All UV Rays Stay Outside: How Window Film Can Help Protect You.

“Both UVA and UVB rays can cause sunburn and tanning, which damage the DNA in your skin cells and increase your risk for skin cancer. UVA rays also cause the unwelcome signs of premature aging, including dark spots and wrinkles.”

~ the Skin Cancer Foundation

Need Help Deciding Which Kind of Window Film Works for Your Bathroom?

Give us a call! We can help you decide. We’re all over the San Francisco Bay Area, from the South Bay to San Francisco to Marin to the East Bay. Here’s our customer care number for your convenience: 415.650.5200.

Perhaps you’ve heard the news: for every month this year, we’re having a discount for residential and small business owners! If you haven’t, you can read about it here: Our Ten Year Anniversary Discounts Make You a Winner. For February, our discount applies to Fasara window film. And if you’ve never heard of Fasara window film, read on. You’re sure to love all the benefits! We’re constantly surprised by how much people love Fasara!

Fasara Window Film Comes in Many Variations

In fact, we’ve written about Fasara many times before. People might not only ever want “vanilla” window film. In that case, you’re very welcome to try something a little different. Did you know that Fasara window film comes in all the following varieties?

• Fasara Stripes
• Fasara Dots
• Fasara Patterns

We like all of them, but some of those patterned window films will really take your breath away! For instance, the rice paper finish filters light and gives you privacy while adding a design element. You could mirror that rice paper finish with other decorative elements. If you love middle eastern or Asian cooking, you might like to use the rice paper finish in your kitchen! But the serenity of the rice paper look would honestly look good anywhere in your home or office.

Fasara Saves Your Hard-Earned Dollars

You may want a beautiful home or office without spending all your hard earned money. Fasara helps you with that. Rather than buying custom drapes or plantation shutters for your windows, use Fasara window film to save your privacy as well as your budget. After all, wouldn’t you rather spend your money on that new Lamborghini you’ve had your eye on?

Fasara Controls the Light

Perhaps your life feels out of control these days? Mother Nature can be cruel to us by sending big storms, atmospheric rivers, and floods. So there’s at least one place where you’ll feel in control! Fasara helps you control the amount of light that enters your home or office. If you’re sensitive to light, you may squint if there’s too much glare and get a headache. Fasara can help with that.

You Get Beauty and Flexibility

You can combine different types and styles of Fasara window film for a beautiful look. And it’s easy to block a not-so-beautiful view with Fasara. For instance, if your neighbor refuses to clean up their yard, you could block that view with Fasara! Believe us, we know about that neighbor. You won’t know how many beautiful finishes there are until you take a look. Take a peek at 3M Glass Fasara Finishes for Design and Contruction. That 3M™ DICHROIC™ Glass Finish is really something!

Can’t Decide? Give Us a Call!

We’d love to discuss any kind of window film with you. We’re all over the San Francisco Bay Area, from the South Bay to San Francisco to Marin to the East Bay. Here’s our customer care number for your convenience: 415.650.5200.

We’re very excited to announce that we’ve now been in business for TEN YEARS! We really can’t believe it because the time has flown by. And we’d really like to support our local small business and residential customers. So for every month of 2021, we’ll be announcing a new 10% discount, starting with January of course!

January’s Discount is on Thinsulate!

In case you haven’t heard of Thinsulate, here are some articles you might like to check out.

• What Are Three of the Proven Best Window Films for Home Use?
• How to Stay Cool in the Heat? You’ll Love 3M Thinsulate Window Film! 
• Super Easy Way to Stay Cool in the Heat? Remarkable 3M Thinsulate Window Film

As you can tell, we’re huge fans of Thinsulate, and maybe that enthusiasm will rub off on you, too!

Why Thinsulate?

Since Thinsulate is an insulating window film, it not only keeps you cool in the summer, but keeps you warm in the winter! Thinsulate makes single pane glass perform almost as well as dual pane and makes dual pane behave almost to triple pane standards! What other window film can keep you warm during the winter and cool in the summer, too?

Nearly Invisible

Like most other window films, Thinsulate is nearly invisible. You can see it if you really try, but you don’t need to see it to know that it’s working! It’s about the thickness of a Post-it note.

Save Energy Costs

Adding Thinsulate can help you save up to 10% of your energy costs, maybe more. And if you keep your costs down during the hottest or coldest times of the day, that’s an added benefit.

Don’t Know Where to Start? Give Us a Call!

We work throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, from San Jose to the East Bay to the Peninsula and Marin! Call Window Works customer care at 415.650.5200 for pricing and more information.

Have you been considering the gift of window film for one of your family members? Or for your employees? If you give window film as a gift, will your friends or coworkers look at you sideways? They just might…at first! But after awhile, window film is well worth the investment. Here’s why.

Window Film Gives Back

The window film you install now will pay back in dividends later. Without the glare and harsh light coming in from the outside, you’ll be less distracted and happier. Whether that means sunlight in your kitchen or your office, everything will seem less jarring and quieter. Window film gives you a zen feeling, which we all need right now. You might like this article: How to Have a Zen Experience with Window Film.

There’s Nothing More Important Than Your Health

Yes, it sounds like a cliche, but it’s true. Without your health, what do you have? As 2020 has clearly shown, people are vulnerable in a few different ways, but you can take steps to protect yourself and your family’s health. Did you know that window film reduces UV rays? And that UV rays lead to skin cancer (as well as eye problems)? Don’t take our word for it, though. Get the scoop from the Skin Cancer Foundation: UV Radiation & Your Skin.

The Long Haul

Window film is one of those gifts that let people know that you’re in it for the long haul. It’s not a chintzy gift that people will immediately regift at the very next holiday party White Elephant Exchange! Window film lets people know that you care about them and their health! It really is a heart-warming gift. It’s so much classier than a fruitcake or a fruit basket. (Not that we have anything against fruit baskets, by the way. Just sayin’!)

You’re Worth it

Be kind to yourself, your family, and your coworkers. Don’t you deserve to have good things? We strongly believe that window film is a good thing. So if no one else is going to give you window film, get it for yourself! After all, there are still a few people who don’t know about all the benefits of window film. If they don’t, you can always send them here: The Revolutionary Benefits of Window Film You Never Knew. One benefit? You’ll save on your energy bills!

How Do You Wrap it, Though?

We’re kind of joking about that, but since you’ve probably wrapped stranger things than window film, we think you’ve got it handled! A simple holiday card with a sentence or two explaining your gift will probably do the trick. And if you have any questions, please reach out to us!

Every year it’s the same ol’ thing: go to the Christmas tree lot, choose a (green) tree, and decorate it. What if we could have something different this year, though? That’s why this year we decided that for the office we’d do a tone-on-tone Christmas tree. In other words, all one color! Here are the masked crusaders, at the office: Donna Dris, Asia Bautista, Rio Gache Hernandez, and Liz Briones Duque! We’ve been busy with our virtual conferences, such as the Virtual California Facilities Expo we attended recently.

Why Monochrome Christmas Trees Work

What is it about monochrome Christmas trees? They’re so effortless and elegant and the decisions are few. You don’t have to overthink choosing decorations if your choices are fewer. Just add ornaments in a single color and you’re done. If that looks too spartan, add some sparkle! A little silver or gold and that’s all you need. You can see in our office, above, we only need the basics and a little gold tinsel! There’s even a mini pink tree on the desk!

Specially Colored Trees for a Difficult Year

While we love tradition, we’ll keep tradition for things like turkey dinners with stuffing and gravy. For our Christmas trees, though, we’d like to ride that holiday trend and stay modern! For our trees, we’ll stay in the pink with our holiday decor. And not to take you too far afield, but our pink Christmas trees won’t harbor owl visitors like that baby owl that got caught up in the Rockefeller Christmas tree.

Setting the Stage for a Fun Holiday Season!

Although we can’t roast marshmallows or traditional chestnuts, we are following safety regulations at work. We still get that wonderful sight of a crackling fireplace, but without all the smoke and neighbors complaining about *gasp* creosote buildup in our chimney! We are singing a little, although nobody can tell what songs they are since the words are muffled behind our masks!

Are You Going for Modern or Traditional This Year?

We can’t go Christmas tree shopping with you, but we can advise you about window film! So if you need help there, definitely give us a call! We’d be happy to help.