Solar window covering

Best Solar Shades | Solar Blinds

May 10, 2022 By Hunter Douglas

What Are Solar Shades?

Solar window shades (also called sun shades) are roller shades crafted with a specially designed fabric that’s woven just tight enough to protect against UV rays while still optimizing your views. If your windows overlook gorgeous scenery and a lot of sun is coming into the room, solar shades will block the annoying glare and reduce heat without obstructing your view. They’ll also prevent sunlight from fading or deteriorating your upholstery, carpet, hardwood floors and artwork—and they may even help lower your energy bills!

Solar Shades: Openness Explained

Openness refers to how tightly the fabric is woven. The lower the openness level and the tighter the fabric weave, the better it blocks the sun—but the less you can see through the shades. The higher the openness level, the looser the weave and the less it blocks the light—however, you have better visibility. Designer Screen Shades come in openness levels ranging from 0% to 14%, so you have options for filtering light.

Unlimited Options

With hundreds of fabrics and opacities, numerous decorative options and a variety of top and bottom treatments, you can customize your solar shades to fit your personal taste. For unusually large windows, Designer Screen Shades are available in widths ranging from 12" to 192" and heights from 12" to 144". They can also fit bay and corner windows. If you have doors in the same room as your windows, you can create a cohesive look by coordinating Designer Screen Shades fabrics with vertical window treatments like Skyline^® Gliding Window Panels.

Solar Shades and Color

One thing to keep in mind when choosing solar shades is the fabric color. Even if you compare fabrics with the same opacity level, lighter and darker colors work a bit differently. Lighter colors better reflect heat and illuminate a room, but the view might be a little hazy (similar to that of sheers). So, if you have small windows or want to brighten a space, a lighter color may work best. Dark colors, on the other hand, are excellent at reducing glare and providing better view-through. A darker fabric is a great choice for larger windows that overlook an amazing outdoor setting.

Do Solar Shades Offer Privacy?

Yes and no. The higher the openness level (the looser the fabric weave), the better you can see through the fabric. But during the day, you have a little more privacy—you can see outside, but others cannot see into your home. When your lights are on at night, the effect is the opposite and outsiders can see inside. You might want to consider adding a liner to your solar shades, or for a more dramatic look, layer your shades with curtains.

Since solar shades on their own don’t provide as much privacy as other shades, they work best in more public areas like kitchens, living rooms, media rooms, sunrooms and patios as opposed to bathrooms or bedrooms. You might also notice them in business offices, where they reduce glare on computer screens, or restaurants, where you can take in the surrounding views.

UV Protection and Energy Efficiency

Besides protecting your furnishings from damaging UV rays, Designer Screen Shades can help reduce the amount of heat that escapes a room in the winter and enters in the summer, depending on the color of the shade fabric and how tightly the fabric is woven. And for more light control, you can combine two Designer Screen fabrics of varying opacities on the same shade.

Minimal Light Gap

Even if you choose a low openness level, some solar shades may still let in light through a slight gap between the shade and the window frame. Designer Screen Shades and Designer Roller Shades are designed with an ultra-slim Custom Clutch which, because of its small profile, allows for the absolute thinnest light gap in the industry.

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View our Solar Shades Buying Guide

Solar shades are a unique type of window treatment. Unlike many other window treatment styles, this shade specifically focuses on blocking UV rays. Solar shade material uses a special design to keep UV rays from entering your home. They still allow you to enjoy your view, but they reduce glare and brightness. The end result is a chic, modern shade that protects you and your home from harmful UV light.

Solar window treatments come in various opacity levels. These levels address the amount of UV light that the shade lets into your room. For example, a 1% opacity shade lets 1% of all UV light into a room. Lower opacity levels may make your view fuzzier, but they keep more UV rays out of your home. 5% opacity tends to provide the best of both worlds. It keeps out UV light while still letting you see outside. Depending on your needs, you might want shades with anywhere from 1% to 18% opacity.

Solar Shade Benefits

Selecting a solar shade for your home lets you access a variety of excellent benefits.

Glare Prevention: Many people like to use these shades in living rooms and offices because they cut down on glare. You still get diffuse light, but not strong rays that make it hard to see your screens.
Light Control: You can still easily see through the weave of a solar shade. However, it does make the room dimmer. These shades can be a nice option for nurseries or other rooms where you want dim, filtered light.
Furniture Protection: Strong UV rays can make plastic crack, fabric fade, and wood warp. If you don't want this to happen, it's a good idea to install solar shades.
Open Appearance: A solar shade gives you a lot of protection without making the room seem closed-in. They let you easily see the outdoors, so your room feels larger and more open.
Cooler Temperatures: Many people in hot climates select these shades because they help keep interior temperatures cooler. Since the solar shade blocks UV rays, it keeps the sun from heating up your house.

Ways to Upgrade Your Solar Shades

To get the best solar shade style for your needs, consider adding these upgrades.

Continuous Cord Loop: This control style consists of a loop of cord that you mount on the wall. It gets rid of dangling cords, and it makes larger windows easier to operate.
Cordless Lift: Get rid of cords altogether with this upgrade. Instead of cords, you adjust these shades by gently tugging on the bottom rail. It's safer for pets and looks a little more streamlined.
Motorization: This upgrade lets you use a remote to raise or lower your shades. It's helpful for hard-to-reach shades, and it's nice when you want to adjust shades without walking around the house.
Matching Valance: A valance covers the roll of fabric at the top of the shade. It gives your windows a touch of class and hides any hardware.
Reverse Roll: This reverses the direction the fabric wraps around the roller. Instead of hanging toward the glass, it hangs toward the room. This can create a cleaner look, but keep in mind it may cause a small gap at the top.

Things to Consider Before Getting Solar Shades

Solar shades have some unique features not found in other shades. To get the best results, there are a few things you'll need to know about.

If you try an inside mount on a shallow window, there may be slight gaps due to incorrect mounting. For the best UV protection, check measurement requirements carefully, and consider an outside mount.
When selecting a fabric with a pattern in the weave, keep in mind that you can choose its orientation. Having the fabric run horizontally instead of vertically can greatly impact the look.
Since part of the advantage of these shades is that they display your view, they typically are not privacy shades. You'll need to add a blackout fabric if you want better privacy.

Solar Shade Measurements and Installation

To get the best possible results, you'll need to carefully measure your windows before ordering. Check the solar shades product description to see how to measure your window and find the right mounting depth. Once you order your shades, you have a few different product installation options. If you're feeling handy, you can install a solar shade yourself. All you have to do is follow the easy instruction guide we provide with your purchase.

If you have any questions about measuring and installing a solar shade, remember that our team is here to help. You can call 800-575-8016 to get measuring and ordering advice from the design consultants at American Blinds. In no time at all, you can be enjoying the gorgeous style of these shades in your own home.

Window glass coating - solar panels.

A student at the Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) has developed a new type of window that can generate electricity from sunlight . They are covered with a thin layer of material that distributes the rays in solar panels located around the perimeter of the windows, according to the portal glassnews.info.

Designed by Applied Physics student Jan William Wiegmann called "luminescent solar concentrate" . In it, he not only explained how windows and glazed facades of houses as a cheap source of electricity, but also showed the relationship between the color of the material and the maximum amount of energy, which can be extracted with it. The luminescent layer will absorb part of the solar spectrum and direct light into solar panels - stripes along the edges of the window. Due to the larger absorbent area surface, the efficiency of these batteries will be higher than that of ordinary.

According to the developer, such windows are capable of generating tens of watts power per square meter. The exact amount of energy produced from one window will depend on the color and quality of the light emitting layers, and as well as the performance of solar panels.

"Transparency film produces more than 20 watts of electricity per square meter. In this case, a window will be required to power the computer. four square meters. Efficiency will improve if the film pick up higher frequency waves. This can be achieved with using a coating that absorbs photons from a specific part solar spectrum. A film that mainly absorbs blue, violet and green parts of the spectrum, will give the windows a red color" , — said the developer.

Another option is to use a film that will absorb all colors of the solar spectrum equally. This would give the windows gray tint. Both red and gray films have an efficiency of 9%, which is comparable to efficiency flexible solar panels.

Head of the company "Youth Scientific and Technical Center" Alexander Olikevich called the development of the Dutch student quite logical. "We we do not use the full spectrum of sunlight, so it would be great put into action exactly that part of it that has not yet been involved when receiving energy. I think that the main task of the new development is is the ability to produce a film that will absorb and redistribute the rays of the sun. Today, solar panels absorb everything waves in a row, but process only a part of them. If it appears film, which will use only the necessary waves, and the rest will pass, it will find application not only in the production of windows, but also in other areas. Of course, at first, all innovations are costly, but film production requires little material, so even if it will be expensive, everything will quickly pay off. Moreover, film technologies are constantly developing in all sectors” , - says Mr. Olikevich.

Researcher, Laboratory of Nanomaterials Spectroscopy of the Institute general physics them. A.M. Prokhorov Academy of Sciences Alexander Chernov noted that the use of solar energy to generate electricity is very promising and widely used even today.

“In my opinion, such developments can be applied already in in the near future, while research in this direction is ongoing. constantly, so improvements in such films will not force themselves long wait. The main question is whether a person wants to change the color of windows or dim them to charge your computer for free" , Mr. Chernov said.

Window Portal tybet.ru

Solar control glass unit: purpose, pros and cons

Blinding light, withering indoor plants and burnt furniture upholstery are sure signs that the apartment is on the sunny side. And this same sun reigns in the room all day long, burning everything in its path and turning the bedroom or hall into a solarium branch. How to be saved from this? Use sunscreen! What is it, how is it used, what are its pros and cons - experts of our company will tell.

What is solar control glass?

Double glazing that protects your room from direct sunlight. Glass does not heat up, the room remains cool in the heat, furniture does not burn out, cats and indoor flowers do not suffer.

At the same time, sun-protection windows are not very expensive (compared to conventional ones, see the favorable prices for such models in the catalog). Available in the following varieties:

The tin-based composition is applied to the glass immediately during its manufacture. This is called "hard" spraying. Such a solar window will stop part of the infrared spectrum. Visually, the protective coating will look like a light bluish coating on the glass, noticeable in contrast with other windows.
A thin layer of silver, immediately after it - a layer of titanium oxide (most often, but there are also options with zinc, tin, and so on) is applied to the glass during the manufacturing process using the cathode sputtering method. Depending on the second layer, the glass can become a different color, but mostly in the "basic configuration" it is completely transparent, does not interfere with the passage of sunlight, but stops excess heat.

According to the method of work, we can distinguish:

Surfaces that are predominantly reflective;
Surfaces that are predominantly absorbent;
Surfaces that are completely reflective.

Select a specific window based on your needs. The most common (and convenient) material will be plastic windows, predominantly reflective, coated with a thin layer of silver.

Important! It would seem that you can use a solar control film for double-glazed windows. Why overpay and buy sun protection windows? There are three reasons: the film reflects too much light (you may have to remove it in the winter, it gets dark too early in the summer, electricity bills will rise), you need to apply it skillfully and correctly, and it does not look very aesthetically pleasing.

Pros and cons of plastic sun windows

So, the pros include:

Glasses do not heat up - the room does not heat up. Even in hellish heat, if your apartment is on the sunny side, you will enjoy the coolness. No more running out of the room at dawn.
These glasses are characterized by additional impact resistance.
Due to the production process, they can look different “from the inside” and “outside”, which helps to choose a beautiful window in the style of the interior or exterior (if you have a country house).

Do windows have disadvantages? Not direct. Sun protection windows are a good tool. If it is used correctly, then of the minuses there will be only a slightly higher (compared to conventional windows) price.

If applied incorrectly, you can overpay and foolishly install such windows throughout the apartment. You should not do this - the rooms of the house will become too cold and you will have to spend money separately on warming the apartment in the autumn-spring-winter period.

Another frequently asked question: How many double-glazed windows do these security windows have?

The answer is simple - with anyone. As a rule, only one pane of glass is covered with a protective film. All the rest are normal. This is done because no room needs more protection (and it will be meaningless). Therefore, you can choose a double-glazed window of any class with solar protection. You need to proceed here purely from your preferences and the conditions in which you live.

And do not forget - it is important not only to buy a good window, but also to install it correctly.