Features of roller blinds

Discover the features of roller blinds to help you find the best sun protection to suit your needs.

One of the most important features of roller blinds: the types of fabric

One of the features of roller blinds is that they fall into two main categories: decorative roller blinds, made from fabrics suitable for homes, and technical roller blinds, where all fabrics are certified as fire-retardant and are therefore ideal for large-scale office projects, though they are often an excellent choice for homes as well.

In recent years, we have seen technical roller blinds evolve significantly. When we talk about technical roller blinds, we are referring to all those blinds that have specific components designed to improve the environment.

Some of these features include:

• Solar filters
• Acoustic
• Thermal
• Eco-friendly
• Recycled
• PVC-free

All these characteristics are always related to the fabric, which is why the best option is always to seek advice from professionals to ensure you have a thorough understanding.

First of all, we must distinguish between two types of fabric:

• Those made from polyester and PVC
• On the other hand, fibreglass with PVC.

WHAT DOES EACH OF THESE TECHNICAL FABRICS OFFER FOR ROLLER BLINDS?

Fibreglass, which we see in Screen fabrics, provides dimensional stability that polyester cannot guarantee. It is a much more technical fabric, to which we can add features such as improved acoustics and temperature control with thermal fabrics.

Fabrics made from polyester, known as Poliscreen, lose stability when exposed to very high temperatures. This is due to the boiling point of each component. Fibreglass requires very high temperatures to heat up, whereas polyester fabrics require lower temperatures; this is why these fabrics are more affected by temperature changes.

We can conclude that when choosing one fabric over another, we must consider the environment in which the blind will be used to assess whether one type of fabric is more suitable than another.

What does the opening factor mean in roller blind fabrics?

Another characteristic of roller blinds is the opening factor.

What does the light transmission factor mean in roller blind fabrics? 

The light transmission factor is the amount of light the fabric allows through.

The standard light transmission factors are: 

• 0% for an opaque fabric, which lets no light through at all.
• 1%, an opening factor where little light passes through; it is not quite opaque.
• 3%, an intermediate light transmission factor
• 5%, the most commonly used, thanks to its cleaner weave, both visually and aesthetically. 
• 10% the most open of all, which is recommended only when, in those windows

THE IMPORTANCE OF COLOUR

For light colours, if we want the light to be well blocked from entering the interior,

we will need to use openness factors between 1% and 3%. 

With dark colours, at 5%, even with direct light coming in, it will block all glare, as this colour mutes all brightness. 

Here you can find more information on dark colours for roller blinds: Dark colours for roller blinds

Is it necessary to motorise roller blinds?

It depends on the size of the blind; it isn’t necessary, but we motorise 90% of our orders. 

We always recommend, wherever possible, motorising a blind for the customer’s convenience and to ensure the durability of the mechanisms.
For large sizes of 3 metres or more, we almost always motorise them due to the heavy weight of the blind, which means customers have to exert more force when raising or lowering it. 

This extra effort we have to exert puts more strain on the mechanism, so it is better to motorise it to ensure greater durability. 

In addition, in partnership with AOK, we offer a home automation module that can incorporate many other elements such as smart lights, sockets, heating… all of which can then be synchronised with Alexa, Google Home, Siri… An extra service that works very well for homes and offices.

Child safety

The first recommendation is that the curtains should have no chains or cords, so that children cannot grab hold of them and hurt themselves, either on their own or with their siblings or friends. 

The type of curtain that would pose no problem at all is the traditional curtain, as it has no chain or cord to operate it; it is operated by hand by simply pulling the fabric to one side or the other.

For example, for nurseries or schools, we always recommend motorised curtains, so that children cannot play with the chain and end up hurting themselves (we may be thinking the worst, but there have surely been cases).