Hudson Bend Installation of 38 Solar Screens
This is a home in Hudson Bend where we installed 38 solar window screens. We added a solar screen to every window in the house. We used 80% solar screen fabric for the front, left, and right sides of the home.
The 90 percent solar screen fabric was chosen for the rear side of this house, which is the side (part) that directly faces the West. This area of the house is particularly exposed to the harsh rays of the mid-afteroon to setting sun. In the extended summer days, sunlight can impact west-facing windows for as long as eight hours daily. Therefore, we highly advise opting for the darker and denser 90 percent solar screen fabric for such windows.
We advise that if your windows receive more than four hours of direct sunlight, you should use our 90% solar screen fabric. For windows that get less than four hours of direct sun, we recommend using the 80% solar screen fabric. In this case, the back of the home is the side that receives four or more hours of direct sunlight.
This homeowner decided to install solar screens on all of their windows, including the arch above the front door and the two sidelights beside it. Additionally, they opted to put solar screens on the windows leading into the garage. They made these choices to ensure that the home would have a cohesive and polished appearance. Leaving some windows uncovered would have made the house look inconsistent and unfinished. Whenever I encounter homes with uncovered windows, I always leave with the impression that they appear incomplete.
We currently offer six fabric colors. We used a dark brown "chocolate" fabric color for this installation. Additionally, we have black fabric, stucco fabric, beige fabric, and a light bluish-grey fabric available. These are all the Textilene fabrics available in 80% and 90% density, manufactured by Twitchell. By the start of 2018, we are aiming to acquire a new fabric in a light brown shade. This fabric will resemble the stucco color of this house, specifically an adobe brown hue. It is a unique fabric exclusive to our company. Currently, we are the sole solar window screen provider in the Austin region offering this distinctive light brown fabric.
This newly built home in the Hudson Bend, Texas region lacks mature trees that could offer shade. As a result, all the windows are exposed to sunlight at some point during the day. Hence, we installed solar window screens on each window to provide shade.
Homes that are in established areas and neighborhoods generally will have tree cover that will provide shade for some of their windows. That’s what a solar screen does — it provides shade for your window installed on the outside.
How solar screens work
The solar screens will shade the window’s glass from the sun’s rays.
Solar screens are designed to fit on the outside of the window, by doing so you are providing shade for the glass and you are providing shade for the inside of the home.
Shading options installed on the inside of your window
People will ask if they can put the sun shade window screens on the inside of the home, though that is not what they are made for; they are made to provide shade for the windows, and the inside of the home. If you need a solar screen for the inside of your windows, that is what blinds and interior roller shades are for. Or, you could use window film. Window film is installed on the inside of your window, so it provides shade for the inside of the home, but will not provide shade for your glass. And, in fact, the glass actually gets hotter from window film, because the sun’s rays are being stopped and dispersed at the inside window pane of the glass because of that window film. Window film will give you shade for the inside of your home but they will cause your windows to get considerably warmer therefore it is counterproductive when trying to keep the inside rooms cooler.
Here’s an image of the back of the house, where we installed 90 percent solar screen fabric on all the windows. We chose this type of fabric because this side of the home receives more than four hours of direct sunlight each day.
The homeowner made sure to cover all the windows in the house. Below on the patio, there are French doors with 90 percent fabric solar screens installed on them. Since the doors are made of glass, we were able to apply solar screens to them.
From this picture, you can see that the doors and most of the windows are being hit hard by the afternoon sun. This side of the house is definitely the warmest, so we chose to use our 90 percent solar screen fabric for better shading.
How dark does the 90% solar screen fabric look?
The fabric with 90 percent density is marginally thicker than the 80 percent fabric. Although it seems solid when observed externally, it is actually see-through from the inside. This results in a remarkable contrast: from outside, the fabric seems dark and opaque, yet from within, one can observe that the exterior is well-lit while the interior appears darker. The fabric enables your eyes to penetrate through it, offering a clear view of the bright exterior areas.
Here’s a close-up view of some of the 90% solar screens. You can find many pictures of solar screens here. These solar screens are installed by directly attaching the screen framing to the window framing with four small self-tapping tech screws. The heads of our tech screws are color-matched to the window framing, ensuring that the screws blend in seamlessly.
Vinyl windows typically come with drain holes located at the bottom. If you examine the pictures closely, you'll notice a small black sliver at the bottom left and bottom right of the window—these are the drain holes. It's important to ensure that when screens are installed, they do not obstruct these drain holes. These openings allow the window to drain any water that may enter the window framing.
Example of 80% solar screens
The image below shows the right side of the home, where we installed our 80% solar screen fabric.
In our solar screens gallery, you can find many more photos to explore.
Compared to the darker 90% solar screen fabric, you can see that the 80% fabric isn’t as dark. Notice the white area across the window, which indicates the break in the window; this allows you to see through the fabric.
With the 80% solar screen fabric, you can typically see about a foot beyond it.
The images below provide excellent illustrations of what an 80 percent fabric looks like. Notably, in the top window with the horizontal sliding feature, you can see that the solar screen was not installed over the two drain holes. Additionally, if you examine the bottom left and right corners of the 35 by 72 windows, you'll notice that those drain holes are also uncovered. It's important to never cover the drain holes.
Observe the excellent visibility provided by the solar screen fabric, allowing you to clearly see the window break. Compare this to the 90% solar screens shown in the images above.
The chocolate brown fabric looks so beautiful.
This chocolate brown solar screen fabric we used for the Hudson Bend solar screen installation is beautiful and provides a nice contrast to the sandstone exterior of the home.
If you take a closer look at the area above the air conditioning unit, you'll notice that some of the stones are turning a darker color. This discoloration can occur when water hits the AC unit and splashes back up onto the stones. The dust and dirt that accumulate on the AC unit can be carried upwards by the water, leading to this staining effect on the stones.
This same process also affects lighter-colored materials. For example, stucco, beige, and gray fabrics can become dark and dirty over time. While not all of them will be affected, those exposed to roofing tar or water splashing off windowsills—bringing along dirt and debris—are more likely to show these stains.
So, are you ready to have solar window screens installed on your own home? Check out our service area, and read plenty of reviews from our shade screen customers here.
Contact the Austin Shade Team today to learn more.
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