Thanks to advances in technology, innovation, and materials there are now a huge variety of different types of window screens on the market today with a plethora of functionality. Many different brands and uses are available to a homeowner to take advantage of, but many homeowners make the mistake of simply choosing the cheapest option. After all, a window screen is a window screen, right? Don’t all window screens keep bugs out of the house?
While it’s true that all window screens share the functionality of keeping insects from flying into your home, today, there are many specific functions a window screen can give a homeowner to address several different solutions to unique problems. For instance, there are specially designed window screens to keep out even the tiniest of insects where gnats are an issue, pet screens that can withstand happy paws and claws, window screens that are almost invisible to help improve the view, solar screens, and many, many more.
Today, let’s focus on premade solar screens. There are a few reasons why they may be one of the best options for you and your home. If you are unfamiliar with them and why they may be the top choice, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about premade solar screens.
What Are Solar Screens?
Solar screens are a mesh-type covering for any window or opening in a home or business. One of the most popular and trusted types of solar screens is called Textilene®. Textilene is a type of fabric manufactured by the industry’s leading company, the Twitchell Corporation, that creates ultra-durable screens, fabrics, and a multitude of other hardy products.
Textilene custom solar screens used Twitchell’s premier fabric made of tightly woven polyester. Then, each strand of polyester is coated with poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) then set with heat. This process makes the window screens especially suited for handling outdoor use as well as the outdoor environment. This advanced process and coating add extra protections to a window screen that most average screens lack, such as protection from abrasions, fading, and sun damage. Additionally, biocides are included in the creation of Textilene solar screens, meaning a custom solar screen has greater resistance to mold or mildew growth, while the PVC coating goes the extra mile to block heat transfer, thus keeping the heat from passing through it.
Solar screens don’t block out the sunlight from streaming into your home, but what they do block is the UV light, which is extremely important in many ways.
How UV Light Affects You and Your Home
UV rays or ultraviolet radiation can be very harmful, as anyone who has forgotten to put on sunscreen before spending a day outside in it can no doubt attest to. Whenever we go out to the beach, to the pool, or on a hike, many of us grab our sunscreen, perhaps a hat, and other UV rays protective gear to fight against its harmful effects.
What many homeowners may forget, however, is that when the sun shines through your windows, those UV rays pass through the window and can also cause damage to your home itself. Home items such as your carpets, furniture, and art can begin to fade prematurely. If exposed to UV rays they fade over three times faster than home items exposed to UV restricted light. Normal windows may only block 30-50% of incoming UV rays, which means furniture, especially heirloom or antique pieces with a great sentimental value near windows, are in danger of fading or damage.
One of the major sources of damage to wood furniture, especially aged furniture, is sunlight. UV rays damage the finish, resulting in cracking, flaking, and fading the original stain. Clear antique finishes may yellow with too much exposure to UV light as well.
Most importantly, UV rays that still stream into your windows can affect your health too. Exposing yourself to direct sunlight through a window for long periods can begin to damage your skin cells, cause premature aging, and the most serious side effect: increase in the risk of skin cancer.
Easy to Use Protection for You and Your Home
While drawing your curtains or lowering blinds during the day can somewhat help, curtains nor blinds tend to completely block out light, creating a dark room. Many homeowners enjoy natural light and there are many moods and health benefits to natural light without the dangers of UV rays. So, why go with solar screens, specifically premade solar screens? Let’s consider the benefits:
- Easy to order, easy to install, ready to use out of the box. With premade solar screens, you can simply gather your old windows’ width, height, and frame size and order a new frame with solar screen ready. There’s also the option to customize the frame with color choices, what color the screen mesh will be, whether or not the screen needs a crossbar, and any hardware types you may need for the smoothest installation.
- Solar screens are energy efficient. By installing premade solar screens in your home, you will reduce the amount of air conditioning needed to keep your home’s temperature comfortable. The less your A/C runs, the less you will pay for energy bills.
- Beautiful and stylish choices. You can choose a variety of contemporary, on-trend styles as well as the percentage of UV rays that are blocked. This means that you can choose to block out UV rays without sacrificing the natural light in a room or choose a higher percentage for greater privacy or less light in a room such as a bedroom.
If you’ve been hesitant to decide to invest in them or not, hopefully, you’re better armed to make the right decision to benefit you, your home, your health, and your energy bills.