With Roller Shades being all the rage we thought it would be a good idea to help explain the differences between all the fabrics and their opacity percentages. This way our clients will have a better idea of what would suit the needs most in their home or office.
Obviously the color you choose is important when it comes to matching decor and interior styles, but what you really have to take into consideration is the opacity levels of the fabric. What we mean by opacity is how much light can pass through the material. For example, we have light filtered fabrics that can allow anywhere from 0% to 20% of light to show through.
Zero percent(0%) fabric will mean that absolutely no light will pass through the fabric from a light source. It is what we call our blackout shades and they are perfect for bedrooms or areas that require absolute darkness. Blackout shades are usually combined with side-rails, bottom-rail felt, and fascias in order to guarantee no light entering the room. It is pretty much creates a darkroom where if inside and the shades are closed you will not know what time of day it is outside. Many of our clients request this type of roller shade motorized so they can operate the blinds from the comfort of their own bed.
Roller Shade – 0% Blackout
On the other end of the spectrum is our three to twenty percent(3% – 20%) fabrics. These materials will allow a lot of light to come through the fabric with decreasing percentages lowering the amount of light respectably. The ability to still see through the fabric while still blocking UV rays is what this material is all about. Also, much in the same way a two way mirror will work when you are inside you can easily see out, but if you are in the outside you cannot see in. This way they still attain a level of privacy that can not be matched by other types of blinds or shades.
Roller Shade – 10% Light Filtered
In many cases we have placed both a light filtering fabric and a blackout shade on the same window. This gives our clients the best of both worlds and takes the difficulty of making a hard decision out of the equation.
We hope this helps everyone better understand the functionality of this very flexible product and its accompanied fabrics. As you can see due to its ability to be customized from just the traditional open and close functions of most blinds and shades has caused it to become very popular among clients in the market for an upgrade. No matter what the opacity they will cut energy costs by keeping areas cool and blocking sunshine. All the different opacity levels also are available in all the different operating systems we offer.
If you have any further questions regarding Roller Shades and their opacity levels please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to answer them for you.
