Years ago we hung energy-efficient, light-blocking curtain panels in all of the bedroom windows in our house. We made the decision to do so after learning about how very dark rooms can improve sleep quality. Our curtains are neutral beige or light cream-colored. I purchased most of them at Target and have been happy with how well they’re worked and how they’ve held up over years of use.
Aldi sometimes sells blackout energy-efficient curtains, and when one of my kids spotted some rainbow-colored blackout curtains in a recent Aldi ad, she asked if I would buy them for her room . . . because they’re more fun than beige.
I had to visit two stores in my area to find the right-sized curtain panels. The curtains came in a longer style measuring 84 inches and in a shorter version measuring 63 inches, and we wanted the 63-inch curtains. The first store I went to didn’t have the 63-inch curtains in the color we wanted, but we found them at the second store.
Huntington Home Energy Efficient Window Panels (product code 700202) cost $7.99 for a pack containing two curtain panels at the time of publication, or about $4 per panel. That’s incredibly cheap for curtains.
These are an Aldi Find (Special Buy), which means they’re only in stores for a short time. Aldi does not offer online ordering for its specials, so once these sell out at your store, they’re gone until the next time Aldi decides to sell curtains again.
The back of the curtain packaging. (Click to enlarge.)
Here’s more information:
- Available in two sizes: 27″ x 63″ or 27″ x 84″
- Energy saving
- Rod pocket style panels
- Fits rods up to 1″ diameter
- Designs include Rainbow Ombre, Vertical Stripes, or Horizontal Stripes
- OEKO-TEX certified to be “free from harmful levels of over 300 substances”
- Made in China
- Made of 100% polyester
- Machine washable
I purchased the Rainbow Ombre panels and put them up in my daughter’s window to see what they looked like. I hadn’t measured the window’s width before buying the Aldi curtains, having assumed that because the two panels I already owned from Target fit the window fine, there wouldn’t be any problem. My mistake. The Aldi panels are on the narrow side at 27 inches wide, and they don’t cover the entire window when pulled shut, which means they won’t block all outside light in our particular window.
Unfortunately, two curtain panels don’t cover the entire window.
I also found it harder to slide the Aldi panels onto my curtain rod and harder to pull them open and closed on the rod compared to my older Target curtains.
The back of the curtain panel has a black material to block light.
I’m not sure, but I think the slightly rubbery black material on the inside of the curtain panels was sticking a bit to the rod, making it difficult to slide the curtains. My Target curtains have a light-colored rubbery material on the back, but it doesn’t seem to stick as much.
However, that same dark material makes these Aldi panels effective at blocking light. The Aldi curtains are thinner than my Target curtains, but even without completely covering the window during the day time, the Aldi curtains blocked a significant amount of light, so these definitely work as blackout curtains.
It was hard to slide the curtains on the curtain rod.
The colors on our Rainbow Ombre curtains are somewhat muted compared to the picture on the packaging, but that’s not necessarily a deal breaker.
What is a deal breaker is the fact that two panels don’t completely cover my window. I could purchase another set of panels for a total of four in order to cover the window, but I prefer to have two larger panels rather than four smaller ones. I ended up packaging these curtain panels back up and will be returning them to Aldi.
The Verdict:
Huntington Home Energy Efficient Window Panels come in a two-pack in various colors and patterns. The curtain material is on the thin side but appears to effectively block light. The panels are narrower than other standard panels I’ve purchased from other retailers, so measure your windows carefully before buying. Otherwise, they seem okay if you need inexpensive blackout panels.
