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Home Decorating

solar shades

15 years ago

in my living room i have 2 full size windows next to each other. i do not like to keep the blinds closed bc i feel like i cant see outisde and like im living closed up.however in the summer,i live in louisiana, that sun shines straight through. it also makes a glare on the tv.

i saw these solar shades i think its called. its supose to block the glare but still allow to see through them.

anyone have any?

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Comments (4)

tomalyse
15 years ago
We installed Hunter-Douglas solar shades in our kitchen (windows face south and west). We love them! We installed them to reduce glare and reduce the potential for sun-bleaching of our new cherry cabinets. They cut down on glare but also have cooled the kitchen while still allowing us to see out. Note that they do not provide a lot of privacy, however. We went in our back yard after dark to see how they looked - with the kitchen lights on inside, you can see in at night. We had debated whether to put them in our master bath - and the night experiment nixed that idea - we got shutters for the bathroom instead! But - I like how we can block the direct sun glare and uv rays while still being able to see out - I hate feeling closed in!
lilbit77
Original Author
15 years ago
well thanks!!thats exactly what i needed to know!!!im not concerned with the privacy bc we live in the country down a long driveway. besides even in the summer time i reopen the blinds after the sun goes down bc i hate the closed up feel.

i knew it wouldnt be much on privacy bc i have a sample of one,just for the color.
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I've never heard that Solar Shades are to be used on the exterior only and I've seen plenty of use on double pane windows within the house. If a shade had an insulating effect and was sealed along the edges or had sealed side tracks, then that would not be safe to use with double pane. Solar screens are just that.....screens. They go outside the window just as any other type of screen is used. Roller shades can be decorative lightweight window coverings, but the term 'roller' is also used for the Solar Shades since they are usually on some type of roller system. It sounds like Solar Shades will fit your need. Here is a link that might be useful: Interior Shades
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Wow what a view! Just gorgeous!!! Don’t blame you for not wanting to cover up even for a minute. I also didn’t want shades and I have just installed solar film on our back windows, I also didn’t want to darken the room.. We installed a film that has very little color in them but supposedly blocks like 97% of the harmful UV rays. You cannot tell that they have it on. I was just saying though what if this is all hype and they really aren’t blocking the rays?! Haha I have only had them about three months so no way to know for sure I guess. I really haven’t noticed a difference at all with them on. When you touch the glass they are hot though so maybe not allowing the heat to pass through.
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The actual shade material is black on both sides, interior and side that faces outside. For some reason, they did not wrap the strip at the bottom (the "bar") that holds the shade at the bottom with the fabric on the side that faces the exterior. I think this is a design flaw it should be black material. When you are outside the house, you see a white strip at the bottom. But this is the tradeoff for not paying more at a different company I suppose. I complained and after several months I was offered about $300 off my purchase price which I accepted.
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Love my exterior Koolaroos! They stop heat before it enters the house, so yes, the company is right about not heating up the glass. Koolaroos were about 50 USD per 4' x 5' window so the price is right. There are many factors to consider for any window covering: * Size (huge window? any solution will cost more) * Accessibility (can you easily reach the window location to manually operate shades? if not, you may need motorized which sends cost skyward and often, reliability downward) * Wind (outdoor shades always need anchoring, indoor ones may too, depending on whether you open the windows and what your typical winds and exposure are) - Can wind anchoring hold shades in just full open or full closed, or can you have an intermediate position with anchoring? How do you operate anchoring? * Appearance (very visible location where HOA demands perfection, or concealed sideyard where nobody cares?) * How often will you need/want to adjust shade position? Multiple times daily? Or just when seasons change? * Durability and resistance to UV, windblown soil (dirt/greasy pollen/air pollution/bird droppings/collected leaves etc.), water including standing or freezing water etc. etc. - UV is very damaging to materials that aren't treated to resist it. Insist on UV-designed materials, otherwise your window coverings shred to bits in just a few seasons if your location is sunny And above all, just think very hard about what your main goals and expectations are, throughout the day and with the change of seasons and weather. This can vary from window to window as each has a different exposure.
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lilbit77
Original Author
15 years ago
BTW- i got a sample from blinds.com. thats where im gonna order from
movin-on
15 years ago
Before you purchase you might want to consider exterior solar screens. They come in several colors of bronze, black, white and are 90%, 85% and other degrees of light filtering. What we find attractive is that they attach to the outside windows, covering the entire window, people CAN NOT see in during the day, but we can see out just fine.

We installed the 85% screens on our S.Texas - south facing windows which are 6' x 7' and we are able to keep the windows uncovered. I installed HD roller shades for the evening privacy.

One BIG item, we found since they are on the outside of the house the windows stay cooler, hence the room is cooler and we found them to be cheaper than interior solar shades. Once you put op the interior solar shades, then add the window treatments we found the look to be too bulky (personal opinion).

You can go to the big box and find this product as a DIY
or do a google 'solar screen panels, exterior'. Let me know if you cannot find them, I can search -- there are many companies in the south that are installing these.

Check 'em out.

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