Will clear tarpaulins reduce solar gain?
Video length: 3m 15s
A customer asked whether our clear screens would reduce solar gain — heat build-up — through their studio windows, without cutting down the light. The honest answer depends mostly on how the screen is fitted.
What the video covers
It comes down to sealing. In most cases these screens aren't sealed tight against a window frame the way a pane of glass is — you're usually hanging the screen in front of a frame or doorway. That leaves a draught, which lets air circulate, so you won't see big spikes in temperature build-up.
That said, the screens do have reasonably good thermal insulating properties. Used to close off a space like a gazebo or pergola, they'll hold a little more warmth in over winter than leaving it open — and by the same logic, a bit more heat in summer too.
On clarity and light, both of our clear PVC materials let plenty of light through. The Ultra 50 (0.5mm, 550gsm) is the clearer of the two, which suits gazebo side walls and pergola covers where you want the best visibility. The Flexi 30 (0.3mm, 320gsm) is slightly hazier but more supple and more economical, which makes it a popular choice for temporary covers on things like rabbit hutches and chicken runs.
Frequently asked questions
Will a clear screen stop heat building up behind glass?
Not dramatically. Because the screen usually isn't sealed tight to the frame, the draught around it lets air circulate, so you avoid big heat spikes — but it won't act like a sealed, heat-reflective window film.
Do the screens keep any warmth in?
Yes. They have decent thermal insulating properties, so closing off a gazebo or pergola will retain a little more warmth than leaving it open to the elements.
Which material is clearest?
The Ultra 50. The Flexi 30 is marginally hazier but more supple and more economical.
Full transcript
Hi guys, so we've had a question come in and I'm going to read it out because it's an interesting one. "Will these screens reduce solar gain, i.e. temperature build-up? I need something to reduce heat build-up through my studio windows without cutting down light transmission."
So the answer to that question depends somewhat on how well you're sealing these screens to your window frame. In most cases these screens aren't going to be sealed to a window frame in the same way that a window is sealed into a window frame, using a beading or a rubber installation strip. Chances are you're going to be hanging this screen in front of a window frame or a doorway, but you're not going to be sealing it tight against the frame, which is going to mean that there will be a draught. And that draught is going to allow air to circulate around the room that you're in, and consequently you're not going to really experience big spikes or build-ups in temperature.
On the flip side though, we do find that these screens have got generally quite good thermal insulating properties. So in the winter, if you're using them to screen off a space such as a gazebo or a pergola, you are going to find that the screens are going to keep in a little bit more temperature than if the space was just open to the elements. So you could argue that, similarly, in the summer you're going to feel more heat kind of wrapped up and kept in the space than if it was just open to the elements as well.
Clarity-wise and light-penetration-wise, I'm going to let the photos that we're flashing up on screen kind of do the talking here. This is a flexible PVC material, available in two different thicknesses, known as the Flexi 30, which is a 0.3mm 320gsm PVC material, and an Ultra 50, which is a 0.5mm 550gsm clear PVC material. Both of them are extremely clear, as you can probably see from the photos. The 0.5mm, the Ultra 50, is particularly clear in terms of clarity. The 0.3mm, the Flexi 30, is slightly more hazy, but it benefits from being a lot more flexible and supple, which means it's better suited to temporary coverage — covers for rabbit hutches and chicken runs and things like that — whereas the Ultra 50 is really well suited to gazebo side walls and pergola covers and things of that nature.
So I hope that helped. Please do let me know if you have any other questions — we love answering questions like this and we love creating videos like this, so please do drop any messages here and we'll be happy to answer them. Thank you.
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