How Solar Shades Work
Solar Screen Shades Block the Sun, but Not the View!
Solar screen fabric is available in a wide variety of colors, styles, and openness factors to meet almost any criteria. These fabrics 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 like SilverScreen and EnviroScreen have a highly reflective exterior regardless of the room-side color. Metallized high performance fabrics are able to provide low visible light transmittance (VLT) values in combination with low shading coefficient (SC) 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
- For view, glare control, heat reduction select high performance 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 ambience is desired. Light is filtered, and view through the fabric is similar to a sheer drapery.
- Higher RS (Solar Reflectance) values mean lighter colors reflect more heat away
- Higher VLT (Visible Light Transmission) values mean more daylight is allowed to pass through
WHY solar shades work- the science behind the fabrics
Solar shades are based on 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. Your dealer or the fabric expertise of Insolroll’s customer service staff are available to help you make the perfect fabric choice for your needs. The Key Thermal/Optical Factors (see tab below for further explanation)
- Ts= Solar transmittance
- Rs=Solar reflectance
- As=Solar absorptance
- Density= Openness factor
- VLT=Visible light transmittance
- SHGC=Solar Heat Gain Coefficient
- Benefits of Sun Control with Solar Screen Shades
- Understanding Solar/ Optical/ Thermal Factors
- How Solar Screen Shades Block Heat
Solar shades control 3 kinds of solar radiation
Solar shades block infrared rays- we feel them as heat
- Decrease the heat gain through windows
- Reduce cooling costs
- Raise shades to any level to take advantage of solar heat gain in winter
Solar Shades Block Visible spectrum Rays: light
- Decrease glare
- Increase visual comfort
- Keep the view! Like looking through sunglasses- glare is reduced and colors are more vibrant and true.
- View media, work or relax in comfort
- Stay connected to the outside world
Solar shades block damaging ultraviolet rays (unseen or felt UV rays)
- Block up to 99% of harmful UV rays
- Lower risk of skin cancer and cataracts/eye damage
- Prevent suppression of the immune system
- Lessen premature aging of the skin
- Greatly decrease photodegredation (fading and cracking of home materials and finishes)
Understanding solar/optical/thermal factors
Part of the information collectively known as “fenestration data”
What is sunlight?
What we call “sunlight” is the energy, or radiation that comes from the sun. Some of it is visible, some is not visible. The visible and invisible combined, or “spectrum”, make up what we see as light, feel as heat, and UV (ultraviolet) rays that are not seen or felt, but have damaging effects on skin, eyes and furnishings. See solar spectrum diagram.
Solar transmittance (Ts): The proportion of solar energy transmitted through the fabric alone. A low percentage indicates fabrics that reduce solar energy well.
Solar reflectance (Rs): The proportion of solar energy reflected away by the fabric alone. A high percentage indicates fabrics that reflect solar energy well.
Solar absorptance (As): The proportion of solar energy absorbed by the fabric alone. A low percentage indicates fabrics that absorb little solar energy.
All of the available solar radiation is either transmitted through, absorbed by or reflected by the fabric. The total value of all 3 percentages equals 100% of the available solar radiation.
Ts + Rs + As = 100% of solar energy
Openness factor (or Density): Measurement of the relative area of the fabric’s openings, or holes. The more open the fabric, the more solar radiation passes through open space rather than fabric, affecting the overall performance and amount of glare protection, heat protection, and view through. Fabric color itself does not affect openness across a fabric product line.
Visible light transmittance (VLT): The percentage of the available visible light allowed to pass through the solar screen shade and window combined. VLT is impacted by the openness factor, fabric color, and the amount of light that transmits through the fabric. A low figure (<10) indicates effective glare reduction.
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC): Indicates the amount of solar radiation that enters an interior space through both the window and the shade in the form of heat, compared to the total amount of solar radiation.
The lower the SHGC, the more effective a solar screen fabric is at stopping the heat from entering the room.
Learn more about SHGC and how solar shades block unwanted heat
Shading Coefficient (SC): The previously used term “Shading Coefficient” has been replaced by SHGC, which is a more useful and accurate way of describing the shading effect of shades and all types of windows and glass.
SHGC does not reference single pane, double strength glass, and can be used to calculate energy performance for all times of day and year because it takes the angles of the sun and window treatment into account.
How solar shades block heat
- Some of the sun’s radiation passes directly through the window and shade, bringing heat directly into the space.
- Some of the heat reflects away from the glass and shade, and some is absorbed, thus heating up the glass and shade.
- Some of the absorbed heat flows back outside, and some flows inside to the space.
- The total amount of heat that ultimately warms the space, compared to the total amount of solar radiation before it struck the window is known as the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, or SHGC.
The heat blocking bottom line
Solar screen shades provide an additional protective layer inside the window glass, reflecting away more of the sun’s heat than the glass alone. The fabric’s density (openness) and color together determine how much of the heat is reflected. Less open fabrics reflect away more heat, as do lighter colors, and high performance fabrics block heat equally well regardless of color.