Roller shades roll flat fabric onto a tube, and solar shades are roller shades made from a woven screen that filters sun. Together they are a common answer to glare, fading and privacy, and this page explains how to choose.
A roller shade is defined by its mechanism: a single piece of fabric that rolls up onto a tube and rolls down to cover the glass. The fabric can be solid, translucent or opaque. A solar shade is a roller shade with a specific kind of fabric, a woven screen with tiny openings that lets some light and a view through while reducing glare and sun.
That means one product family covers several jobs. A solar fabric handles daytime glare in a living room, a blackout fabric handles a bedroom, and a light-filtering fabric sits between them. If you want the opaque end of that range, our blackout and privacy shades page covers it.
Roller shades also come in dual systems, where two fabrics share one bracket set. A common pairing puts a solar fabric on the front roller and a blackout fabric on the back. During the day you lower the solar fabric to keep the view and cut glare, and at night you lower the opaque one for privacy and darkness. The pairing costs more room in the window frame, so check the depth you have before choosing it.
Solar fabrics are described by an openness percentage. A lower number means the weave is tighter, so less light and less view pass through. A higher number lets in more of both. Common choices run from very tight to fairly open, and each suits different rooms.
The openness factor guide walks through the trade-offs at 1, 3, 5 and 10 percent, including why a dark fabric gives a clearer view than a light fabric of the same openness.
Do not choose openness from a photograph. Lighting in a product photo is not your lighting, and the same fabric can look sheer in one room and nearly opaque in another. Ask for a physical sample, tape it to the glass and look at it in the morning, at midday and at night with the lights on. That one afternoon of checking prevents the most common return.
A shade can sit inside the window opening for a built-in look, or outside it on the wall or trim, which covers more area and can reduce light gaps at the sides. The choice depends on frame depth, trim and how much coverage you want.
Wrong measurements are the most common reason a shade does not fit, so read the inside and outside mount measuring guide before you commit to a size.
Hardware deserves a look as well. Brackets must be fixed into something solid, and a wide shade is heavier than it looks. Fascia or cassette headrails hide the rolled fabric for a finished look, while an open roller shows the tube. Both work, and the choice is mostly about taste and how much of the window you want to keep clear.
Roller shades can use a continuous chain, a spring-assisted lift, a cordless design or a motor. In homes with young children, cordless or motorized lifts are the safer choice, which our child safety guide explains in detail.
Motors suit large or hard-to-reach windows. Motor power and control choices are laid out on the motorized and smart shades page.
Think about edges. A roller shade should hang straight and roll evenly, and a poorly measured one can drift to one side as it rolls up. This is another reason to measure each window separately instead of copying the size of its neighbor.
Roller and solar fabrics are typically cleaned by dusting or gentle spot cleaning, but methods differ by fabric and maker. Follow the manufacturer's care instructions, and see the cleaning guide for material-by-material advice.
Sun Shades Pro is a new brand, so we confirm fabric availability and lead times during your consultation instead of promising them here.
No. A solar fabric is designed to let some view through during the day. The lower the openness, the less you see, so choose based on how much view you want to keep.
Not reliably. With lights on inside and darkness outside, people outside can often see in. Pair a solar shade with a blackout shade or drapery if night privacy matters.
No. A blind has slats you can tilt. A roller shade is a single sheet of fabric that raises and lowers, and the guide comparing blinds, shades and curtains explains the differences.
Yes, roller shades are a common motorized option. Ask in the consultation form about battery, plug-in or hardwired power.
Tell us which kind of shade you are considering and we will reply about measuring and options.