Single, Double or Blackout Cells for a Rochester Winter?

By Kevin Sill

October 23, 2026

For most Rochester living spaces, double cell is the strongest winter pick. Two layers of air pockets add more insulation at cold glass. Single cell works fine on smaller or less-used windows. Blackout cells belong in bedrooms where you want real darkness. And Minnesota was the first state to formally recognize certified cellular shades as an energy-saving measure.

Why do cellular shades come up every fall in Rochester?

Short answer: the cold.

Rochester's normal January temperature is 14.7 degrees. The normal low is 7. Those are 1991 to 2020 normals from the National Weather Service. On average the city drops below freezing on about 149 days a year. It gets about 48 inches of snow, too. Both numbers come from the University of Michigan's GLISA climate profile for Rochester.

Then there's the dark. Rochester's earliest sunset is 4:32 p.m. It holds there from about December 3 to December 15. On December 21 the city gets about 8 hours and 53 minutes of daylight. Both come from U.S. Naval Observatory tables. So most of your winter evenings at home happen with the windows dark and cold.

Cold glass and snow glare. Long nights. Wind off open fields. A good cellular shade helps with most of that list.

How does the honeycomb actually work?

A cellular shade is two or more layers of fabric bonded into a row of cells. Look at one from the side and you'll see a honeycomb.

Each cell traps air. Trapped air slows the heat moving from your warm room to the cold glass. That's really all there is to it.

Three things follow:

More air layers, more insulation. That's why double cell beats single cell for warmth.
Fit matters. Gaps at the sides let warm air slip past to the glass.
Closed beats open. A raised shade can't insulate anything. Lowering it at dusk matters as much as the product.

On fit, there are two ways to hang a shade:

Inside mount. The shade sits inside the window frame. Clean look. The trim stays visible. Small gaps at the sides are normal.
Outside mount. The shade covers the frame and overlaps the wall. Fewer gaps and more coverage. A good option when the frame is shallow.

Neither one is right for every window. Deep frames and nice trim lean inside. Shallow frames lean outside. So do rooms where you want the most coverage. A good measure looks at each window on its own.

Wind is the other Rochester factor. The GLISA profile notes Rochester "has also been reported as the second windiest city in the U.S." Homes on open ground or at the edge of town feel it on the glass. Older windows can let a little air move around the sash. A shade won't fix a leaky window. But a well-fitted cellular shade does add a buffer between that cold air and the room.

Single cell or double cell: what's the real difference?

Single cell has one row of honeycomb. It's lighter and slimmer when raised. It still traps air. It still beats a bare window or a flat fabric.

Double cell stacks two rows. Budget Blinds' own product page says double cells offer greater insulation. It stacks a little taller when raised.

How to decide:

Big windows in rooms you use after dark: double cell.
Bedrooms on the windy side of the house: double cell.
Small windows, baths and laundry rooms: single cell is usually fine.
Windows where a slim stack at the top matters: single cell.

A mix is normal. Match the cell to the window, not the whole house to one choice.

A made-up example: picture a two-story house on the northwest side. It has a big west-facing living room window and two kids' bedrooms facing north. There's also a small bathroom window and a home office facing east. A sensible plan might be:

Living room: double cell, light-filtering. Largest glass, most evening hours.
North bedrooms: double cell. Coldest glass in the house, right next to the beds.
Bathroom: single cell. Small window, short visits.
Office: single or double cell, light-filtering. It softens morning glare on the screen.

When do blackout cells make sense?

Blackout cells use a fabric lined to stop light. They insulate like any other cellular shade. They also make the room dark.

Use them when:

Someone sleeps past sunrise or during the day. Think night shifts and early shifts.
A bedroom faces a streetlight or a neighbor's porch light.
A media room needs a dark screen on a bright, snowy afternoon.

Skip them in rooms where you want daylight. A blackout shade in a family room means lights on at noon.

One catch. Fabric alone won't make a room fully dark. Light leaks at the edges. The cellular shades page notes that light guards or channels can get you to complete darkness. Ask about them if darkness is the goal.

How do the three types compare?

Type	Warmth at the glass	Light	Best rooms	Look
Single cell	Good	Light-filtering or room darkening	Small windows, baths, laundry, low-use rooms	Slim stack, simple pleat
Double cell	Better	Light-filtering or room darkening	Living rooms, great rooms, windy-side bedrooms	Fuller pleat, slightly taller stack
Blackout cell	Good to better, by cell type	Blocks light through the fabric	Bedrooms, day-sleep rooms, media rooms	Same honeycomb look, darker room

How much any shade helps depends on your windows and your house. It also depends on how you use it.

Which rooms get light-filtering, and which get blackout?

Go room by room:

Living room and great room. Light-filtering double cell. You want daylight and warmth, plus privacy at night.
Kitchen and dining. Light-filtering. Daylight matters more than darkness here.
Primary bedroom. Blackout if anyone sleeps in or sleeps days. Light-filtering if you like waking up with the sun.
Kids' rooms. Light-filtering or blackout, depending on the child's schedule. Cordless lift is a good fit for homes with kids and pets.
Home office. Light-filtering, to soften snow glare on screens.
Guest room. Blackout is a nice touch for visitors who arrive tired or sleep in.
Lower level. Basement windows are small, but the glass sits near cold ground. Single cell is usually plenty. It adds privacy at yard level, too.
Sunroom or four-season room. Lots of glass on several sides. Go double cell. Plan for summer heat as well as winter cold.

Snow glare gets its own mention. A sunny morning after fresh snow can be blinding through a south or east window. Light-filtering cells soften it without making the room dark.

Color matters too. Two quick rules:

Lighter fabrics bounce more daylight into the room. They also look calm and even from outside.
Deeper colors feel cozy inside. But they can dim the room more than you expect.

Most cellular shades have a white or neutral back that faces the street. That keeps your house looking tidy from the sidewalk, even if every room inside has its own color. Ask to see both sides of a sample.

What about lift options like cordless and top-down?

You'll use the lift every day, so it matters. A few options to know:

Cordless lift. Push up, pull down. No cords hanging at the window. Budget Blinds offers cordless lift on its cellular shades.
Top-down, bottom-up. Lower the top for light and sky. The bottom stays closed for privacy. Handy on street-facing windows.
Motorized. Worth a look for tall or hard-to-reach windows.

For winter, any lift works. What counts is that it's easy enough that you'll actually lower the shade every evening.

What does the Department of Energy say about cellular shades in Minnesota?

In April 2023 the U.S. Department of Energy reported that Minnesota became the first state to add certified cellular shades to its Technical Reference Manual. That manual lists measures that count toward energy savings. The certification comes from the Attachments Energy Rating Council (AERC). It's an independent group set up with DOE support.

The same article explains why it matters. Windows make up only about 10 percent of a typical home's surface area. Yet they can account for 30 to 40 percent of its heat loss in winter.

What that means for you:

Windows are the weak spot in a cold house.
A well-fitted cellular shade is one of the simplest ways to add a layer there.
Want an independent measure of a specific product? Look for the AERC rating.

About numbers. We won't promise you a savings figure. Your results depend on your windows and your furnace. Your habits matter, too. The DOE finding does tell you one thing: in a Minnesota winter, covering the glass is worth doing well.

Which rooms should you do first?

Can't do the whole house at once? Start with a habit. Then follow an order.

The habit first. New shades work best with a simple daily routine:

Morning: raise the shades on the sunny side. Let the low sun warm the room.
Afternoon: lower light-filtering shades partway if snow glare gets in your eyes.
Dusk: lower everything. In December that's around 4:30 p.m. It's earlier than most people think.
Coldest nights: see water or frost at the bottom of the glass? Raise that shade a few inches overnight.

Now the order:

The room you sit in on winter evenings. Usually the living room. Biggest windows, most hours.
Bedrooms on the north or windy side. Cold glass near the bed is the first thing people notice.
Any bedroom that needs darkness. Especially for anyone who sleeps during the day.
The kitchen and dining area. Daylight plus evening privacy.
Everything else. Baths, laundry and guest rooms.

Seeing frost or water on the inside of the glass in January? Read our guide on why frost forms inside Rochester windows first. It explains how to use your new shades on the coldest nights. Shades closed tight can trap moist air at the glass.

Live in a condo or townhome? Fewer windows and shared walls change the plan. Our post on what we'd ask about a Rochester-area condo or townhome covers it.

What should you ask before you choose?

Bring these questions to any consultation:

Single or double cell for this window? Why?
Light-filtering or blackout for this room?
Inside or outside mount? Which leaves smaller gaps?
Which lift options fit how we use this room?
What colors look good from the street when every window is lit at night?
Is this product AERC rated?

And a few mistakes to skip:

Picking from the sample card alone. Hold the fabric up to the real window, in daylight.
Going blackout in every room. Great in bedrooms. Tough on living rooms in February.
Forgetting the patio door. It's often the biggest cold surface in the house. Ask about options built for wide openings.
Leaving shades up all winter. The honeycomb only helps when it's down.

Then the easy part. We bring samples to your home in Rochester or nearby. We hold them up to your actual windows and talk through each room. Budget Blinds of Rochester is locally owned and independently run. Book your free consultation before the deep cold sets in.

Kevin Sill is CFO and co-owner of the family-owned Budget Blinds franchises serving Rochester and southeast Minnesota.