Built-In Insulation for Alberta’s Climate Extremes
Honeycomb Shades in Calgary
Honeycomb (cellular) shades trap a layer of air at the window, creating a thermal barrier that keeps heat in during Calgary winters and out during summer. The result is a more comfortable home and lower energy bills — in a soft, clean profile that suits any room.
- Cellular design insulates against heat loss and summer glare
- Can lower year-round heating and cooling costs
- Top-down / bottom-up options for light + privacy together
Why Honeycomb Shades
Honeycomb (cellular) shades are the most energy-smart window covering for Alberta’s climate. Their distinctive honeycomb cells trap a layer of air right at the glass, forming a thermal barrier that keeps heat inside during −30°C winters and blocks it out through summer. The payoff is a more comfortable home and lower heating and cooling bills — all in a soft, clean, contemporary profile.
What you’ll love
- Cellular design insulates against heat loss and summer glare
- Can lower year-round heating and cooling costs
- Top-down / bottom-up options for light + privacy together
- Light-filtering through full-blackout fabrics
The defining feature of cellular shades is the honeycomb-shaped pocket you see when you look at the fabric edge-on. Each row of cells holds a pocket of still air against the glass, and still air is one of the best insulators there is. That single idea is why honeycomb shades outperform almost every other soft window covering on energy: in a Calgary winter the cells slow heat escaping through cold glass, and through a bright prairie summer they hold radiant heat at the window before it loads up the room.
You decide how much of that effect you want. Single-cell fabric is lighter with a crisper pleat; double cell honeycomb stacks two air pockets for a deeper thermal break — the one we usually steer people toward for north-facing rooms, basements, and big picture windows that lose the most heat overnight. The structure is just as flexible: a standard bottom-up lift, a top-down bottom-up headrail that drops from the top for daylight while the lower half stays closed for privacy, or fully motorized cellular shades run by remote, app or voice — ideal for tall stairwell and great-room windows you can't reach.
Made-to-measure matters more here than with most products. Cellular fabric insulates best when it fills the opening edge to edge with minimal light gaps, so a shade cut to the exact width on a clean inside-mount does real work. We measure each opening in your home, bring the cell sizes and opacities to compare in your own light, and build to fit — never trimming an off-the-shelf size that leaves cold gaps down the sides.
Perfect for
Where honeycomb shades work beautifully in Calgary homes.
See the Look
Honeycomb Shades in beautiful Calgary interiors
Made to Measure
Tailored to your window — and your taste
Every option below is chosen with you in your own home, against your own light and décor.
- Cell
- Single or double cell for more insulation
- Opacity
- Light-filtering · Room-darkening · Blackout
- Operation
- Top-down/bottom-up · cordless · motorized
- Best for
- Energy efficiency & year-round comfort
Fabrics & Options
Fabrics, Opacity & Colour Options
Honeycomb fabric is chosen by two things at once — cell size and opacity. On opacity the range runs from sheer and light-filtering cells that glow with soft, even daylight while hiding the view, through room-darkening fabric, to true blackout cellular shades with an opaque liner inside the cell for bedrooms and nurseries. There is no fully transparent solar-screen cellular option the way there is on roller blinds; the closest is a light-filtering cell that keeps the room bright while still insulating. Cell size comes as single or double cell honeycomb, and you can mix across the house — say a double-cell blackout in the bedroom and a light-filtering single cell in the living room.
Colours sit in a calm, liveable palette: warm whites, cream, oat, greige, soft grey, taupe and deeper charcoals, in a matte fabric finish that reads contemporary rather than glossy. Most fabrics show their colour inside while presenting a neutral, near-white tone to the street, keeping a consistent look across a Calgary façade. We bring the full set of cell and colour samples to your home so you can judge them against your own walls, floors and light before deciding.
Pricing
What Affects the Price of Honeycomb Shades
A honeycomb shade quote moves with a few factors. Size is the biggest: a wide great-room or patio-door opening uses more fabric and a sturdier headrail than a small bathroom window. Cell choice matters too — double cell honeycomb typically costs a little more than single cell for the extra insulation. Opacity plays in as well, with blackout and designer cells usually sitting above standard light-filtering fabric. Operation is the other lever: cordless and top-down bottom-up are modest steps up from a basic lift, while motorized cellular shades — battery or hardwired, with remote, app or voice control — add the most. Because every window is measured and built to size, there's no single sticker price, only a typical range tied to your specific openings. Sunleo gives you an exact, no-obligation quote free after a quick in-home measurement, usually within 48 hours.
Smart-Home Ready
Add motorization to your honeycomb shades
Cord-free control by remote, app or voice with Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home. Schedule shades to the sun, protect furniture from UV, and keep cords away from kids and pets.
Simple & Done-For-You
From first call to finished window
Free in-home measure
We bring the samples to you and measure precisely.
Custom quote in 48 h
A clear, no-obligation quote — made to your windows.
Clean installation
Our installers fit everything and tidy up after.
Care & Cleaning
How to Clean & Care for Cellular Shades
Knowing how to clean cellular shades keeps them looking new for years. For routine care, dust every few weeks with a soft brush attachment, or blow them out with a hair dryer on the cool setting, working air through the cells. For the odd mark, spot-clean gently with a barely-damp cloth and mild soap, then let the shade hang fully extended until dry so the pleats reset crisply — never soak the fabric, as water trapped in the cells can leave a ring. Cordless and motorized lifts have fewer moving parts to wear and are the safest choice around children and pets. The spun-bonded polyester holds its pleat and resists fading, and the insulating cells also help cut the window condensation common in Calgary winters.
Good to Know
Honeycomb Shades — your questions, answered
Do honeycomb shades really save on energy bills?
Yes. The trapped-air cells insulate your windows — one of the biggest sources of heat loss — which can meaningfully reduce both winter heating and summer cooling costs.
What is top-down/bottom-up?
It lets the shade open from the top as well as the bottom, so you can let daylight in up high while keeping the lower half closed for privacy.
Can honeycomb shades be blackout?
Yes — we offer room-darkening and full blackout cellular fabrics, perfect for bedrooms and nurseries.
Are they good for Calgary winters?
They are ideal — the insulating cells suit our cold winters and help reduce condensation and draughts at the window.
Can I machine wash or steam cellular shades?
No — never machine wash, submerge, or steam honeycomb fabric. Water trapped inside the cells can warp the pleats and leave marks that don't come out. Stick to dry dusting with a brush or cool hair dryer, and gentle spot-cleaning for stains. If a shade ever becomes heavily soiled, ask us about replacing the cell rather than risking the fabric.
Are motorized cellular shades battery-powered or hardwired?
Both are available. Most homeowners choose rechargeable battery motors — no wiring, no wall damage, and a charge that typically lasts several months. For new builds or renovations we can hardwire instead. Either way you control them by remote, wall switch, app, or voice through Alexa, Google or Apple, and can schedule them to open and close on a timer.
Single cell or double cell honeycomb — which do I need?
Single cell has one air pocket and a slightly slimmer, crisper look. Double cell honeycomb stacks two pockets for a deeper thermal break. For Calgary's coldest north- and west-facing windows, basements, and large picture windows that shed heat overnight, double cell is usually worth the small upgrade. For smaller or more sheltered windows, single cell is plenty.
Can I get top-down bottom-up on a blackout cellular shade?
Yes. The top-down bottom-up headrail pairs with room-darkening or blackout cells, which is popular in bedrooms — lower the top for morning light and a glimpse of sky while the closed lower section keeps the bed private from the street. The trade-off is a small light gap at the rail, so for total darkness we'd suggest a standard blackout lift instead.
Why You Can Trust Us
Our Promise
The Fit Guarantee
Every blind is built to your exact window. If it doesn’t fit right, we make it right.
Fully Insured
Your home is protected on every visit, from measure to install.
No-Pressure, Written Quote
Clear pricing within 48 hours. No obligation, no fine print.
Calgary & Area
Where we install honeycomb shades
We bring the samples and measure in your home across Calgary and the surrounding communities — no showroom visit required.
Request In-Home Consultation
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What Happens After You Book:
- 1 We call you within 2 hours to confirm a convenient time slot
- 2 Our designer visits your home with full fabric + hardware samples
- 3 You receive a detailed custom quote within 48 hours — no pressure, no obligation
Why you’re in safe hands
