Solar Shades
A shade you can see straight through. Solar shades cut glare and block UV while leaving the view exactly where it was. Fitted and installed for Boise and Treasure Valley homes.
A Shade That Does Not Close the Window
Every other window covering works by blocking. Solar shades work by filtering. The fabric is a tight mesh, so from inside you still see out, but the sun coming at you gets cut down hard. Glare on a screen goes away. The heat coming through the glass drops. The furniture and floors stop fading. And the view you paid for stays where it is.
It is the same roller mechanism as a roller shade, a single panel wrapping around a tube at the top. The difference is entirely in the fabric.
Openness Is the One Number That Matters
Solar shade fabrics are rated by openness, the percentage of the weave that is open space. It is the only spec you really need to understand, because it decides everything about how the shade behaves.
A low number like 1 or 3 percent is a tight weave. Less light gets through, the glare control is strongest, and you get real privacy, though the view is dimmer. A higher number like 10 percent is a looser weave, so the view stays crisp and bright, but you give up privacy and some glare control. Most Boise homes land somewhere between 3 and 5 percent.
The two windows below are the same window in the same room. The only thing that changed is the openness of the fabric.
1% openness. A tight weave in a dark fabric. Maximum glare control and the most privacy, and because the fabric is dark you still read the view clearly rather than looking at a bright haze.
10% openness. A far more open weave in a light fabric. The room stays brighter and the view is more open, but you give up privacy, especially after dark when the lights are on inside.
Dark Fabric or Light Fabric
This surprises people. A dark solar shade gives you a better view out than a light one at the same openness. Dark fabric absorbs the light hitting it instead of scattering it, so you look through it rather than at it. A light fabric bounces light back into the room, which brightens the space but puts a soft haze between you and the view.
So the rule of thumb is: pick dark when the view is the priority, light when brightness in the room is the priority. We bring both to the consultation and hold them up against your actual window, because this is a difference you have to see rather than read about.
When Solar Shades Beat the Alternatives
Choose solar shades when seeing out matters. Offices where you need the daylight and the view but cannot fight glare on a monitor. Kitchens, where the fabric has to shrug off heat and cleaning. West and south-facing rooms that get punished from three in the afternoon through summer.
They also handle big glass better than most products. Hunter Douglas builds these for spans other shades cannot reach, so a wide expanse of window can run as one clean shade instead of being broken into pieces.
If you want privacy after dark, a solar shade alone will not give it to you, because the same weave that lets you see out lets people see in once your lights are on and it is dark outside. The fix is two fabrics on one window, which is the next section.
And if the fabric itself is the design statement, or you need a bedroom dark, you want a roller shade instead.
Two Fabrics, One Window
The common request is a room that keeps its view through the day and goes properly private at night. That is a Duolite shade: a solar fabric and a room-darkening fabric on the same roller, in the same headrail. Lower the first for daytime glare, lower the second when you want the room closed off. One shade on the wall, not two.
The office below is doing exactly that, a 10 percent solar fabric over a blackout on the same window.
How It Opens and Closes
Solar shades take the same lift systems as roller shades. Cordless for the cleanest look and the safest option around children. A continuous loop clutch, which takes the least effort on a large heavy shade. Or PowerView motorization.
Motorization earns its place here more than on most products, because solar shades tend to go on the biggest, tallest, hardest-to-reach glass in the house. Shades move on a schedule, from the Pebble remote, or from your phone, and they can run as a group so an entire wall moves together. Setting them to drop before the afternoon sun arrives means the room never gets hot in the first place. More on motorized window coverings.
PowerView. Schedules, a remote, or your phone. Groups of shades move together.
A square cassette hides the roll at the top behind a clean squared cover, wrapped in your shade fabric or in one of nine hardware colors. A fascia, a fabric valance, or a ceiling pocket do the same job in different styles.
Questions People Ask About Solar Shades
Can People See in at Night?
Yes, and this is the one thing to understand before you buy. The weave works the same in both directions. During the day it is bright outside and dim inside, so you see out and nobody sees in. After dark that reverses: your lights are on, so the same fabric that let you see out now lets people see in. If the room needs night privacy, pair the solar fabric with a room-darkening one on the same roller.
What Openness Should I Choose?
Most Boise homes land between 3 and 5 percent. Go tighter, 1 to 3, when glare or privacy is the problem. Go more open, 10, when the view is the whole point and the room does not need privacy. Justin brings samples so you can hold them against your own window before deciding.
Do They Actually Keep the Room Cooler?
They cut the solar heat coming through the glass, which makes a real difference in a west-facing room on a summer afternoon. They are not insulation, though. If winter heat loss through cold glass is your bigger problem, cellular shades trap air and do that job better, and plenty of homes use both in different rooms.
Will They Block the View Completely?
No. That is the point of the product. You will always see out during the day, though a tighter weave and a lighter color both soften how clearly you read the view.
How Wide Can One Shade Go?
Wider than most window coverings. Hunter Douglas builds these for large spans, so a wide wall of glass can often run as a single shade rather than several. We measure and confirm what your specific opening allows.
Can I See the Fabric Before I Decide?
That is the whole point of the in-home consultation. Justin brings the Hunter Douglas samples to your house so you see the fabric on your own window, in your own light, with your own view behind it. Our showroom at 2615 W Main St in Boise is open too if you would rather come to us. Call ahead so we can be sure to be there.
See the Openness Against Your Own View
This is a product you have to see in place. Justin brings the samples to your window, holds them against your actual view, and tells you which openness fits the room. The in-home consultation is free and there is no pressure to buy.
Or call (208) 808-8676
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