I needed to control the solar heat entering my building and prevent light from entering through the windows as it was the source of glare on the computer screens.

Solar heat gain was making for an uncomfortable environment in the office. My office is made up of mostly large expansive glass windows. The latest buildings being designed favor large panes of glass across the majority of the building. Cooling systems are expensive to install, maintain and run. Obviously, it is better to prevent excessive heat gain, particularly when this can be achieved with a flexible non energy consuming shading system. Depending on the shades chosen, more than 80% of the solar heat energy projected at a window can be prevented from entering a room.

Glare control has become more important. The glare off of a computer screen can rapidly lead to fatigue and eye strain of the employees if widely contrasting levels of light exist in the workplace.

Similarly, bad posture and the resulting strains on the body is a common complaint as operatives adjust their position to avoid glare. I overcame these problems by stopping the natural light entering the building altogether and replaced it with artificial light. The shading blinds were the answer to all of these problems.

The shading system is not only fantastic for the summer months, but great for the winter months as glare is noticeably worse in the winter since the sun is much lower in the sky and will penetrate far deeper into a room.

Since installing the blinds there has been an obvious change in the productivity of the office. It is a much more comfortable environment, not to mention, much more electrically efficient.

Window blinds can be an effective treatment for control of solar heat gain and natural light. Comfort, productivity and efficiency are very important in any business environment. Installing roller shades in my building was a huge benefit to the office as a whole. Roller blinds help control light and solar heat. The blinds optimize comfort, productivity and energy efficiency. My goal was to block solar heat. I used a shade that has a reflective metal coating to block the heat (white was another option, but did not seem to suit the style of building).

I decided on the shades that have tight weaves. They are much more effective in my situation than the shades with open weaves. Tightly woven light-colored fabrics transmit more light but are not as effective as darker shades at reducing glare and preserving the outdoor view. I went with the darker shades. The specialized fabric I chose is designed to preserve the view, prevent glare, and block solar heat.

When I decided on the blinds, I purchased I realized a lot more went into the decision process than I had originally anticipated. For example, the sun rises and sets from east to west. This creates heat and glare for rooms facing in these directions. Windows facing south admit solar heat during mid-day. This is when the sun is at its highest in the sky. My building has an overhang; therefore, the bottom portion of the window needs more shading than the top portion. In turn, I placed mounting blinds at the bottom of the window to provide shade at the bottom. The best part though is these blinds permit a view and natural light through the top of the window, all at the same time.

Due to the fact that the office building is 6000 square feet and covered with windows, I had an electric motor control installed with the shades. The installation has central controllers that sense light and solar-heat. It is then able to adjust the blinds to their optimal positions. The blind control system can open the blinds at night in summer to let the heat escape and then close them at night during winter to aid in insulation.