What are Solar Shades?
Among the dozens of different styles of shades, shutters, blinds, and drapery, the Bali Solar Shade holds a unique position as the sun tamer. Its durable woven fabric stands up to harsh sunlight like no other shade can.
On top of that, solar shades have an open weave that allows you to maintain some view to the outdoors even while the shade is fully lowered. It’s this combination of durability and view to the outdoors that sets solar shades apart as one of the most popular window treatments sold today.
Understanding Solar Shades
Solar shades are popular in both homes and offices due to their ability to block UV rays and prevent glare on computer and television screens. They have a simple design—fabric mounted on a roller—and are easy to use. Simply pull the hem bar to lower the shade or gently lift the hem bar to raise the shade. The popular cordless solar shade is sleek and operates with smooth precision. Automated solar shades boast quiet motors and the opportunity to link your shades into a smart home automation system. (Learn more about Bali’s innovations that make your life easier.)
Benefits of Solar Shades
But regardless of how your solar shades are operated, they will protect you and your home’s furnishings from the harsh rays of the sun by reducing the amount of light coming into a room. Solar shade reduce glare, UV rays, and heat from the sun so you can work on your laptop, play video games, or watch TV in comfort.
Having solar shades installed means your carpets, rugs, wall coverings, art, and furniture are spared the full impact of the sun shining into your windows. Sun can degrade the natural and synthetic fibers of your home furnishings and damage the pigments, leading to a bleached-out appearance. A solar shade’s UV protection can stop or greatly reduce that sun damage and help add years to the lifespan of your home’s furnishings.
That outstanding sun protection is a major reason why people choose solar shades for their home. But the primary reason why solar shades are so ideal is the fact that homeowners get all that outstanding protection from the sun while still maintaining a view to the outside. This is an especially prized feature for people who have views of lakes, mountains, gardens, cityscapes, or skylines. The solar shade lets you maintain some view of these picturesque features while still protecting the home from excess sun.
One of a solar shade’s hidden features is comfort. By installing solar shades, you are blocking excess sun from entering your home, and that leads to more comfort for you and your family, as well as lower heating and cooling costs. And because solar shades are so easy to use, a simple lifting or lowering lets you control how much sun protection you need as the sun’s angle changes throughout the day.
The simplicity of solar shades makes them ideal for home offices. They protect against glare on your computer screen but still give you some view to the outside—so you don’t feel like you’re working in a cave. And solar shades, with their glare-reducing ability, are outstanding for living rooms where playing video games and watching TV are the primary activities.
Choosing the Right Solar Shades
It’s the fabric that makes a solar shade special.
Solar shade fabric is made of materials that protect it from fading in the harsh rays of the sun. It also has an open weave structure that allows some light to pass through the fabric. The amount of light that can pass through a particular fabric is referred to as the openness level.
A fabric with a 10% openness level blocks 90% of the sunlight. A fabric with a 1% openness would block 99% of the sunlight. It also follows that the greater the openness of a fabric, the better the view.
So, if the view out of a window is very important to you, look for solar shade fabrics with higher openness levels. If you are covering windows in a living room close to passersby or close to neighboring windows, you might want to opt for a fabric with a lower openness—such as a 1% or 3%—to give you more privacy.
When looking for higher levels of privacy, especially for nighttime hours, a solar shade might not be the right choice. Instead, choose a Bali roller shade or cellular shade, both of which can provide more privacy. See how solar shades, roller shades, cellular shades, and any other kind of shade will look on your windows by using the Bali Visualizer tool.
Installation and Maintenance
Installing solar shades is simple and easy—in fact, all Bali window treatments are designed for easy installation.
The most important factor in your solar shade installation is proper measuring. Simply measure the width of the window in three places and the length of the window in three places. Bali will take those measurements and build a shade that perfectly fits your window opening. Get complete instructions on measuring your windows for solar shades.
Installing your solar shades is simply a matter of mounting the brackets and installing the roller. There are easy-to-follow instructions for solar shade installation as well.
Discover This Sleek, Modern Shade
Solar shades do their sun-blocking job extremely well. But they’re more than just highly functional—they’re sleek and modern, with a look that fits with a wide range of décor. And solar shades’ open-weave design gives you lots of sun protection while allowing a view to the outdoors. Whether you’re creating a minimalist apartment in the city, decorating a beachside getaway on the coast, or building a home for your family in the suburbs, the solar shade should be at the top of your list.
Bali has been making outstanding solar shades for decades. The number of beautiful solar fabrics available is remarkable. Choose from hundreds of fabrics in on-trend colors in a variety of openness levels. Check out solar shades at one of our many retailers or order free swatches to see the fabrics up close.
