Blinds let homeowners adjust the light in each room, preventing excess sun from fading carpets or a lack of sun from turning houseplants into gloomy teens. Filter out beams with today's Groupon: for $99, you get $300 worth of custom solar blinds from Krumpers Solar Blinds.

Earning accolades including a 2010 HomeStars Best of Ottawa Award, the technicians at Krumpers Solar Blinds engineer products to help homeowners drive down energy costs. With one side for summer and the other for winter, the custom climate-control solar blinds—available in vertical, roller, or panel designs—enhance heating and cooling efficiency as much as 40 per cent while maintaining clear, glare-free views that won't set the television on fire. During the winter, blind surfaces blend R-10 insulation and UV shielding to absorb sunlight and convert it into interior radiant heat, with lab tests showing a 4'x4' window capable of producing the same output as a 600-watt electric heater. Homeowners then use telekinesis to turn the blinds around for summer, bouncing up to 72 per cent of heat back outside as sun rays reflect off a 92 per cent UV-protected surface.

Price is determined by the job, and domicile dwellers can request an online quote by entering measurements and specs, such as $219.25 for vertical blinds for the outside of a 23.75"x37.75" window frame that draw open to the left, right, or center. Roller blinds, such as shades fitted within the frame of a 36"x54" window, include choice of white, silver, or chocolate-coloured hardware with a gooey, caramel filling ($508.80). Valances can be also added for an additional fee. Blinds come backed by a five-year warranty on hardware and materials and include installation within Ottawa, or easy-to-follow instructions to guide inhabitants through installation. Read more at Krumpers' FAQ