Outdoor Roll-up Shades for the Window

Hangs on the outside

Exterior window shades hang on the outside of the house, and stop solar radiation from ever entering the house. Interior shades block light from reaching your eyes inside, but by then the sun's rays have already entered and are turned into the ambient heat. This ends up heating the house anyway.

To counter this, exterior outdoor shades block the light before they enter the house. There are many materials and styles to choose from, but most important is that outdoor shades must be able to withstand constant exposure to heat and rain. Several companies offer these types of shades, such as Coolaroo or SunSetter. These fabrics are special weave which block all sorts of radiation in the visible and ultraviolet range.

Plastic Inhibits Circulation

It is also important that the shade is not something like plastic, which also blocks air circulation into the window. A more natural woven fabric, synthetic or natural fibers, is required for this. Exterior shades are high quality and come usually with excellent warranties.

Material choice

Outdoor roll-up shades come in a variety of materials, with the most traditional ones being fabric but not far behind are the wooden and bamboo ones. In fact, not in the U.S. but in parts of Asia bamboo roll up shades are so ubiquitous they are likely the most common type of outdoor shade. Bamboo roll up blinds provide not only shading, they also act as privacy barriers without compromising on letting some circulation through an open window. The trick is to set the bamboo roll up blinds a bit further away from the window so that a layer of circulating air can come between the blinds and the window.

Other options

The use of shades for saving on air conditioning purposes has both ecological and economical benefits. From an ecological point of view, such shades reduce energy costs, but they also make it cheaper to cool down your house during the summer months. As discussed elsewhere on this site, it's also possible to maintain heat in your home by using cellular or honey comb shades. Therefore, using shades properly can save energy in both winter and summer months.