Comparing Vertical Blinds to Horizontal Blinds

What Are Horizontal Blinds?

Horizontal blinds are window coverings made with slats of wood, vinyl (PVC), aluminum or fabric that hang horizontally from a headrail. These are often known as vanes, material, louvres and hangers. The slats can be adjusted to control light and privacy by rotating from an open position to a closed position or can be drawn up.

They are reasonably easy to clean and can be placed both inside and outside of the window frame. The slats themselves are much narrower than vertical blinds and may not be so attractive.

Some fabrics are more suitable for horizontal blinds in preference to vertical blinds and are less likely to make noises in the breeze than vertical blinds.

The horizontal slats are held together with ladder cords which are fixed to the top and bottom rail via driving rods. As this is rotated, one leg of each ladder cord moves up while the other moves down, causing the angle of the slats to change. Lifting cords are attached to the ladder cords are also attached to the rail. They pass through holes in the slats and into the housing above, where they go over pulleys, combine and exit through the cord lock, which for safety reasons, must always work.

What windows are horizontal blinds most suited for?

Horizontal blinds are often more suited for the smaller window or in windows where you need to keep the glare of the sun off of a nearby computer screen. They are also used as shutters outside of the window to provide a safety feature which can be locked. Horizontal blinds are frequently used to help keep out the sun in conservatories as these can easily be put into grooves in the ceiling to reduce the sunshine depending on the design of the conservatory roof.

The Pros and Cons of Horizontal Blinds

Horizontal blinds like vertical blinds are very practical whether used in the home, factory or office. They are not quite so easy to clean as vertical blinds and are more likely to attract dust. Unlike vertical blinds, individual slats are not easy to replace if damaged. Horizontal blinds are more likely to be damaged in caught in a wind than vertical blinds frequently due to the type if fabric often used such as PVC and aluminium etc. In the same manner as the vertical blinds, horizontal blinds also offer insulation qualities when drawn thus helping to keep the room warm. Conversely, when it is hot they can help to keep the room cool when shut. The slats overlap closely and when shut they create an insulating pocket between the window and the room. However as the header tends to be thicker than the vertical blinds, this together with the bottom rail, when drawn up, take up more of the window.