Plugged in the water heater for a couple of hours each of Monday and Tuesday nights, after midnight when demand low. Co-operation with requested reduction of demand, especially from early afternoon till 8 p.m. or so, was good - some companies shut down part of their activities, some took a couple of days off. They had about 6% cushion between available supply and demand during peak consumption, today. So they didn't need to implement the "rolling blackouts" (shutting off power for 30 - 60 min., first in one area, then another, then a third) that would be necessary if demand outstripped supply. Increasing heat, daily, with smog problem through most of the area, today. Expecting hotter tomorrow. A pain for industry which needs secure supply. And for people using computers, if they lack instantly available alternate power source. joyful

Snickysnacker -- the ones I purchased are Robert Eclipse Black-out Energy Saving Panels -- Thermaweave Panel. They are really soft and drape beautifully. Graywings -- the problem is that the way they're hanging in the second bedroom is a workaround. My husband -- who needs to sometimes sleep in there because of a bad back -- took the decorative rod out of the dip in the front of the bracket and just pushed it up against the wall. Not really a good look, and you can't really slide the curtains to open them because the rod is just resting on the back of the bracket,rather than being held securely. But what it showed us is that if these curtains are closer to the window the amount of light that can sneak over the top or around the sides is reduced to almost nothing! Why is it that all the brackets that hold round rods extend at least 4 inches from the wall? I don't need that much clearance. Are there any alternatives? (thank you both for responding!)

I think the rod should be about 4 feet wide gives you about 6 inches on each side so you can pull curtains to the side. One curtain could work if it was wide enough (4' if you go with that rod size) but would not look good IMO. If you are leaving that shade in the window you could maybe go with a dark grey or dark blue curtain instead of a black out and it would still darken. for height you have to figure how much space is below the window and account for the rod being mounted higher than the window. guessing from the picture you will probably need 95" inch long curtains

Looking to cover sliding glass door that leads to balcony. I am thinking about blackout curtains to keep the sun out during the day and reduce fading of gray couch. Any suggestions would be so helpful.