Keeping your home cool during the summer can be challenging, particularly if you do not have to spend a boatload of electricity to operate your HVAC system at its maximum efficiency. More than ever, you should consider less expensive and more energy-efficient solutions to keep the house cool due to rising utility bills and the associated environmental issues.
Solar screens work as they can cut your home’s energy use by up to 30%. This implies that you can lower your electricity costs and greenhouse gas pollution.
What are Solar Screens?
A mesh screen that filters the sun’s rays is called a solar screen. It is a weaved polyester fabric that lets visible light in while blocking as much as ninety percent of ultraviolet (UV) light. Although many different materials can be used to create solar screens, aluminum and polyester are the most widely used.
Since it is lightweight and simple to work with, polyester is an excellent choice for solar screens since you can quickly cut portions into whatever form you desire! While less workable than polyester, aluminum is more durable and has a variety of vivid colors in addition to silver or black. If you want a more attractive solution for your home, aluminum can be the best choice.
Window Tint vs Solar Screens
The interior of the glass has window tint placed to assist in shielding it from the corrosive elements outside. Less light can flow through the tinted glass, which lowers the degree of heat that enters the building via the windows. Window tint, however, DOES NOT stop the heat from ever reaching the glass.
If you are familiar with the idea of heat energy, you know that a significant amount of heat will pass through the glass when exposed to it. Therefore, preventing heat from reaching the glass initially is the greatest technique to stop heat from passing through a window. Solar screens are far more efficient than window tint for this very reason.
When fitted correctly with a thin air space between the glass’s exterior surface and the screen content, solar screens stop heat from striking the glass and passing through. They bounce heat and UV rays far away from the window to keep the glass from overheating.
Given this, we advise mounting solar screens towards the outside of the window to enhance their efficiency. There is no way to place window tint on the outside of a window so that there is an air space between the shade and glass. As a result, solar screens are significantly better at obstructing the heat and UV radiation that the sun emits.
Do Solar Screens Really Work?
Yes, solar screens can significantly reduce heat gain through windows. Solar screen installation on a room’s windows is relatively easy. These window coverings block solar heat gain, lowering glare and the sun’s dangerous UV rays.
They are also very good at preventing heat loss in your house. A solar screen is a finely woven mesh screen constructed of various materials. Wire, fiberglass, or any additional synthetic fiber type could be used to create it. This screen is attached to a frame and serves as a window covering. Solar screens may be fixed or moving objects.
Certain kinds of solar screens can be taken down in the winter when the sun’s heat is greatly less. Effectively reducing the likelihood of warmth transmission on the glass surface is a window solar screen.
By limiting the quantity of light that can penetrate the glass of a home’s windows, solar sunscreens can stop the sun’s scorching rays from infiltrating the structure. They can serve as a pet-proof screen and keep insects out of your house.
How Do Solar Screens Work?
Solar screens comprise a particular window screen mesh, frequently with a rayon weave and occasionally with a PVC coating for increased longevity. Usually put on the exterior of windows, they effectively darken them.
Solar screens can assist with the sun’s heat gain coefficients, although there are more effective methods of lowering heat transmission through the glass. The National Fenestration Rating Council, a government agency that assigns grades to windows based on how well they insulate, regrettably does not rate solar screens.
Solar screens can help you save money in a variety of ways. The most obvious way is minimizing heat gain in the house, lowering your need for air conditioning. Additionally, solar screens protect your carpets and furnishings from UV rays, reducing fading and guarding against stains brought in by dirt or dust.
Solar screens cut cooling expenses by preventing glare and letting natural light into the house while minimizing direct sunlight on glass. By refracting heat off glass surfaces throughout the winter when cooler temperatures cause them to build frost or ice crystals, it might be possible to save heating expenses if you choose an energy-saving choice for your solar screens, like Screens Unlimited solar screens products.
Pros and Cons of Solar Screens
Solar screens have gained popularity as home upgrades due to their ability to increase pleasure and energy conservation. They provide a variety of advantages, but they might only be appropriate in some circumstances. Examine the benefits and drawbacks of solar screens in more detail.
Pros
- Solar screens can help shield your home from the heat from the sun’s effect, UV rays, and glare, which can lower the summer’s cooling expenditures.
- The comfort of your home can also be enhanced with solar screens, giving you access to seclusion while also allowing you to look outside. By decreasing the amount of sunshine and glare coming through your windows, they also enhance indoor air quality.
- Your home’s energy efficiency can be increased by up to 50% with the help of solar screens, which can also lower cooling expenses and your carbon footprint.
- Solar screens are among the many inexpensive ways homeowners can increase the energy efficiency of their homes without spending much money replacing their windows, and they may even end up paying for themselves over time.
Cons
- Solar screens can block out vistas and natural light, particularly when you choose those with tighter weaves and high heat reflection qualities.
- Due to the darker interior, you can pay more for lighting.
- They are not considered to be particularly aesthetically pleasant by some homeowners.
- Poor solar screen installation can provide a safety risk, especially in windy conditions where it could be blown off.
There are many different designs for solar screens, giving users a degree of aesthetic freedom. Solar screens can also significantly lessen the glare on TV displays and other comparable gadgets. A solar screen can keep insects out while allowing constant air circulation through a house.
Can You See Out Through Solar Screens?
Of course. The only thing solar screens are is screens! Despite having fewer holes than a typical insect screen, solar screens allow for clear vision. Solar screens do not completely obscure the view, but visibility through them is significantly reduced compared to visibility through an opening with no screen.
Select 80% solar screens if you are worried about having the ability to see through them but want them to be effective. We advise purchasing 90% solar screens if providing privacy to the windows is a top priority.
As soon as it is lighter outside than within the home, it will not be possible to see from solar screens when looking through the outside portion of your window. The impact is reversed at night.
People will be able to observe through the frame from the exterior, but viewing out from the interior will be restricted, provided there is lighting on within the home and no direct sunlight just outside the window.
Light and air can pass through the open weave fabric of solar shades. You can see outside throughout the day, but outsiders cannot see inside. However, the impact is reversed at night. The shades become translucent at night while the lights are switched on in your house. You want to avoid this scenario, especially if your neighbors are nosy.
How Long Do Solar Screens Last?
The quality can differ from producer to producer; a twenty- to thirty-year lifespan is most reasonable for your solar screen setup project. However, according to the manufacturer’s representative, they endure as long as you reside in your house.
Solar screens are often divided into groups based on the various opacities or openness characteristics. Typically, a percentage is used to represent this. More light passes via the solar screen with a higher value.
While greater lighting conditions inside a home come from more light passing through the solar screen, it also means less privacy. As an alternative, solar blinds are typically built like roller shades, so they can be adjusted as needed. The advantages of a solar shade include blocking the sun’s rays during the day and opening them up to let in more light at night.
Conclusion
Installing a solar screen is an excellent technique to limit the degree of solar heat and ultraviolet rays that enter a room. They can increase the comfort of your house and even increase its energy effectiveness. Homeowners widely use solar screens due to their obvious advantages, but many people find them unsightly. Despite this, solar screens successfully keep too much heat from entering homes.
