Energy Efficient Window Coverings
As a commercial building manager in the great state of Nevada, you want to have energy-efficient window coverings, especially in the dog days of the summer heat in this area. You have several options from which to choose.
Commercial Window Coverings for the Summer
Not only should your summer window coverings help you to be energy efficient in the summer, but you need one solution for energy savings in the winter, fall and spring too. You have many choices of excellent types of window treatment products from which to choose that will literally pay for themselves quickly in your reduction of energy costs. You can choose from roller shades or solar shades in many colors and opacities.
Roller Shades
Roller shades are very convenient for all sizes of commercial properties whether it is a church, a business or a healthcare building. You can operate flex shades with an innovative remote control motor to open or close up to 10 different shades with one touch of a button. You can also program preset stops in the function so that your roller shades open or partially close to block out the sun and heat in the summer at different levels. You can also choose from your mounting hardware to customize your window coverings, as you like. They can be surface mounted with brackets, fascia with end caps or a head box with a closure. You can also choose your hardware finish from clear, black, white, ivory or charcoal bronze and choose a custom powder coat color to match the color of your logo. Of course, you can choose from a huge variety of fabrics for manual roller shades, but then you will be leaving the operation of the shades to the employees in each office.
Solar Shades or Screen Shades
Solar shades or screen shades are very popular among commercial buildings for their lightweight, ease of operation and resilient fabrics that are heavy duty and long-lasting. You can choose from manual solar or screen shades or you can choose to have them motorized and program them into your excising security system for ease of use.
True performance manual solar shades are a popular choice as they are wear-resistant; they have a smooth operation and corrosion-resistant. You can easily open and close this solar shade to any position you like with the steel bead chain and it operates easily, even if your solar shades are very wide or heavy. You can choose from 100% opaque to 14% openness for the exact level of light and heat control that you desire. The solar and blackout shade fabric is antistatic, stain and fade resistant and they include antimicrobial protection.
Intelligent motorized solar shading systems include motorization and you can operate them by remote control or by programming them. The best part about this product is that you can adjust your shades based on external conations, such as the temperature or the light coming in windows through the climate sensors and timers.
How to Select the Perfect Shade Fabric
This is the most important aspect when it comes to custom commercial window coverings–the correct shading fabric for your exact conditions. In most cases, you should choose the percentage of openness to best suit space and sun exposure. Then decide on dark or light-colored fabric and then choose a color range, then you can decide on the weave and the exact color match.
The Openness Factor
Shade commercial drapery fabric that is considered transparent is 35% to 10% openness. It will cut the glare out of your windows but still allow light inside and it enhances your view. This is most often used in office spaces, classrooms and view windows. Translucent shade fabric is 1% openness, meaning it’s a privacy shade. Choosing a light-colored privacy shade will keep your interior bright during the day while still remaining private. This shade fabric is most often used in urban areas. Shade fabric that is opaque or 0% openness is considered a blackout fabric to darken a room and it offers the most privacy whether it is day or night. This type of fabric is often used in conference rooms and rooms with video viewing.
Dark or Light Fabric?
Light fabric colors are more reflective with lower heat gain and shading coefficients, but they have a higher percentage of daylight and sunlight that will come into space. Light colors get brighter when the sunlight is on them and they can cause glare on screens and eyestrain. Light fabrics are more difficult to see through when looking outside. Darker colors give you a better view through the shade cloth to the outside and they absorb light and can generate heat, making them less energy efficient that lighter colors. Darker fabrics transmit less light and surface brightness in a room so they have great glare-reducing properties.
Year-Round Savings on Commercial Window Coverings
Commercial window coverings are made much more durable and they are much longer-lasting than household window coverings. Not only do you get the premium fabrics in a commercial window treatment, but also the motorized models are built to be super tough for many years to come. You also choose how your motorization works, such as electrical, battery-operated or rechargeable designs.
You will save money not only in the heat of the summer but in the winter when you can have your shading system closed to block out the cold air from entering your space. This, in turn, gives your heating system a break in the winter and your cooling system a break in the summer and it allows you to use each of them less, which in turn extends the life of your HVAC system. This makes automated commercial window treatments a win-win situation for any commercial space.
