Solar Shades Block the Sun, But Not the View!
Solar shades are often available in a wide variety of colors, styles, and strengths to help meet almost any criteria for your home or living area. Fabrics for solar shades fall into three categories; dark fabrics, light fabrics, and high performance reflective fabrics, all of which provide:
- Glare Control
- Heat Control
- Natural Light Management
- View through connection to outside
- Manage Light
- UV Protection
High Performance Solar Shades
High performance solar screen fabrics are designed to outperform light and dark fabrics when a project requires excellent heat control, glare control, UV protection and view through characteristics. High performance fabrics have a highly reflective exterior regardless of the room-side color. Metallized high performance fabrics are able to provide low visible light transmittance values in combination with low shading coefficient values, independent of color. Typical light and dark colored solar screen provide a dedicated solution where one or two criteria are required or deemed the most important.
- For excellent view through and glare reduction select dark colored fabric
- For excellent heat management select a light colored fabric
Dark-colored Solar Shades
Dark fabrics provide excellent glare control by reducing the visible light that comes through the fabric. Fabrics that block 94%-96% of the visible light provide excellent glare control characteristics, and will absorb some heat and keep it at the window until it dissipates into the room. In applications where passive solar warming and glare control are desired, dark colored solar screen fabrics are optimal.
- Higher AS (Solar Absorptance) values mean more light and heat is absorbed,
- Lower VLT (Visible Light Transmission) values mean less light passes through the fabric, resulting in excellent glare control
Light-colored Solar Shades
Light colored fabrics are more effective at reflecting heat, and allow more visible light into the room. Fabrics that block 80-90% of the visible light are an excellent choice for providing more light where windows are small, and in common areas where a lighter, brighter ambiance is desired. Light is filtered, and view through the fabric is similar to a sheer drapery.
- Higher Solar Reflectance values mean lighter colors reflect more heat away
- Higher Visible Light Transmission values mean more daylight is allowed to pass through
Why & How Solar Shades Work
Solar shades are a marvel of science! Solar Screen mesh shades control heat and light, allowing a lower percentage of both to enter the room. Fabric color and density determine the solar/optical/thermal performance of individual fabrics. No single fabric has the precise combination of thermal/optical properties to satisfy every application requirement. The combination of properties of each fabric allow for a perfect match for every application and aesthetic.
