Blinds, Shades and Shutters - Honeycomb shades - questions on fabric, quality, and R-values

My wife and I are in the process of pricing different brands of double-cell (honeycomb) shade products. We want to get the most insulating value for our buck. It is for a family room skylight.

First, questions on fabric material, insulation and quality.

Bali double-cell (semi-opaque) Northern Light shades feel and look very nice. They are thick and "clothy." And they are inexpensive relative to other brands.

Contrast that with, for example, Hunter Douglas' double-cell (semi-opaque) Encore shades, which are thinner and feel more like a plastic-paper combination. But, they tend to be more expensive.

Additionally, the stated insulating R-values from each manufacturer seem to suggest that Hunter Douglas' semi-opaque double-cell insulate better than Bali's semi-opaque double-cell.

So, what are we to make of material versus price versus quality?

Is the Bali thickness, "clothy" nice feel and look just a perception issue? Is the thinner, seemingly cheaper-feeling material of Hunter Douglas actually better quality and better insulating?

Second, questions dealing with insulating values published by the companies.

Since there appear to be no industry agreement with respect to honeycomb insulating R-values, it is hard to compare products. Hunter Douglas does state that the R-values published for their honeycomb products include the window R-value for a Low-E double-glazed and they tell you it's 3.23. Good information. You can do the math to get the fabric's R-value.

Unfortunately, most of the other brands, while publishing R-values, don't give you the baseline R-value for the window itself, so you are left with an unsolved variable and doubt in your mind as to what product insulated better.

For example, Bali Northern Light Double-Cell product has a published R-value of 5.33, which includes the insulating effect from Low-E double-glazed window. But, they don't tell you how much of the R-value is from the window versus the fabric.

You might be tempted to say that you can use the same baseline R-value of 3.23 for the Low-E double-glazed window that Hunter Douglas supplied. In which case, you get 2.10 (5.33 - 3.23 = 2.10). Unfortunately, this is suspect since Bali also publishes its R-values for single-glazed and non-low-E double-glazed as:

Single-Glazed R=2.2
Double-Glazed (non low-E) R=3.3.

Using a single-glaze pane R of 0.9, it gives a fabric R=1.3 (2.2 - 0.9).
Using a double-glaze (non-low-E) R of 1.9, it gives a fabric R=1.4 (3.3 - 1.9).

FYI - 0.9 and 1.9 come from what seem to be numbers used often for non-low-E single- and double-glazed windows. They were not supplied by Bali.

As you can see, the above calculated fabric R-values are very close in agreement; but different from the R-value of 2.10 produced using the low-E double-glaze baseline of 3.23 supplied in Hunter's stated values.

You could repeat this exercise for several other manufacturer's and get the same sort of uncertainty.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

While some fabrics and linings are better than others, they really only redirect the cold air, not actually insulate against it. You need to "seal" the glass around the edges.
You might want to look into a "Warm Window Roman" or "Comfortex" system for true insulating values. These shades actually get sealed around the window. Another product is the 3M plastic that gets sealed around the window.
However, if you really want the honeycomb blinds, then Hunter Douglas has the better rating and will probably insulate better than the Bali.

What great advice! Thank you for the information on window sealing. I'm very happy with my honeycomb blinds during the summer months, because they're excellent at keeping the sunlight and heat out of the house. But, when shopping for winter insulation, it's another matter entirely. I'll look into the 3M plastic for my windows.

I'm guessing you're in the Baltimore/Washington area from your name (DiyInMcMd - I've lived in HCMD for years), there's a custom blind manufacturer called Next Day Blinds. They sell their in-house brand of custom made honeycomb shades and they are also licensed retailers for Hunter Douglas. Might be worth checking out if you're shopping around.