Color is a key factor in selecting a sunscreen shadecloth. Color will directly effect heat gain (shading coefficient), brightness and glare.
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Light colors are more reflective with lower heat gain and shading coefficients, but with a higher percentage of daylight and solar transmittance. |
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Light colors, however, are brighter when sunlit which causes high surface brightness (bare light bulb syndrome) and may transmit excessive, debilitating light onto computer screens and work stations. |
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Light colors are difficult to see through due to surface brightness and higher reflectance and transmittance characteristics. They also tend to reflect more of the interior light back into the space. (See Solar Optical Properties Chart) |
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Darker colors provide a better view through the shadecloth to the outside. Dark colors absorb light and heat, and are less energy efficient than lighter colors. They transmit less light and have a lower surface brightness, which lowers reflectivity and provides excellent glare-free environments for CRTs and work stations. |
MechoShade's ThermoVeil® or EuroVeil® shadecloths can create an ideal balance between low shading coefficient and surface brightness for an energy efficient shading system that provides a soft, quiet room darkening effect that reduces glare on CRT screens while maintaining views. Medium value colors minimize excessive contrast in a room, which reduces eye-strain.
To fully appreciate the impact of direct sun on computers and work surfaces, we recommend full-size mock-ups. With the new high daylight transmitting glazing, we recommend medium to dense fabrics in medium to dark colors. MechoShade will be pleased to provide mock-up samples for this purpose.
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