Curtains have generally been reserved for the south side of buildings where the effects of northerly winter winds are minimized. On the north side of buildings, insulated doors are common although insulated curtains are becoming increasingly popular. A good practice would be to supply both north and south side openings with movable insulated curtains. Insulated curtains can be purchased with R-values as high as 12.0. These curtains consist of multi-layers of single curtain fabric.
Insulated curtains provide two useful functions.
They reduce heat loss due in part to the increased R-value and they reduce infiltration of cold outside air through the exposed portion of the curtain. Reducing infiltration will greatly decrease the heating load on the building and hence increase the ability for maintaining desired temperatures. Side-wall openings should be designed to allow for at least a 4 foot opening on both the north and south walls. The curtain should be designed to move from top to bottom so that cold winter air is introduced to the building as high above the animals as possible. This will help reduce cold drafts at animal level.