Home is the place where we find comfort and privacy after a long and exhausting day. When we are at home, windows are our only contact with the outside world. The use of double-glazing Venetian blinds is an intelligent solution to protect our privacy, filter sunlight and regulate the temperature of the house.Instead of installing cumbersome curtains that gather dirt and dust over time, you can install blinds directly inside the cavity formed by the sheets of glass of the double glazing.There are several types of double-glazing blinds that can perfectly suit the style of your home, such as Venetian blinds, plissè blinds and roller blinds.Double-glazing blinds are also very popular in offices, where it’s critical to shield monitor screens from sunlight and where the use of heavy curtains is unsuitable.When it comes to residential use, especially in spaces where it is difficult to use traditional curtains because of space or luminosity issues, double-glazing blinds are an excellent solution for both their high aesthetic qualities and their technical characteristics.
Double-glazing blinds: the main features
Double-glazing blinds are an innovative product that allow you to mix aesthetic beauty and high levels of functionality.But what control systems are available for them? Let’s find out.
- Knobs: they allow you to regulate a room’s luminosity thanks to the horizontal movement of the slats, which you can open and close according to your needs.
- Cord: a system using two magnets, one internal and one external to the blind, is used to raise and orient the slats. The external control device applied to the glass is a cord attached to a ring.
- Membrane: applied directly to the glass, it enables the control of a single blind or groups of blinds.
- Control Unit: an innovative electronic system, ideal when you need to control more than one blind at the same time via a switch on the wall, remote control or domotic systems.
- Battery: this system features a rechargeable battery with an autonomous power supply placed outside the glass that doesn’t need to be plugged into the central electrical system.
These elements will enable you to have double-glazing blinds with different features.
- Manual or automatic movement: the first is managed with knobs and cords, while the second can be powered by an electric motor connected to the standard power source or even a photovoltaic panel to take advantage of renewable solar energy.
- Better maintenance of your window fixture: the blinds are installed in a perfectly sealed space between the two panes, providing easy access to the glass for cleaning and eliminating the need to clean the blinds.
- Possibility to install a photovoltaic panel: an efficient solution offering many benefits to us and to our planet, as will see in the next section.
Double-glazing blinds with a photovoltaic panel
The idea of saving energy is certainly interesting for environmentalists, but it’s also appealing to people interested in the financial savings offered by this solution.The construction industry has made massive steps forward in the last few years, focusing on recycling materials and innovations like photovoltaic roof tiles and windows.Even new-generation double-glazing blinds can now feature photovoltaic panels.These photovoltaic panels can be installed inside or outside of the double glazing and will support battery recharge to improve performance.There is also the option of using a remote control allowing the regulation of more than one blind at a time without being connected to the main power system.For external models, a magnetic connector needed for the photovoltaic panel installation can be applied both on the glass and on the window fixture, guaranteeing high performance and great aesthetics in both cases.
Insulated windows with solar shielding
In November 2017, the UNICMI – the union representing the metal construction industry and the producers of window fixtures – collaborated with companies like Sunbell to produce the so-called UX95 document. This paper contains guidelines for the production of insulated glazing with solar shielding.UX95 is a protocol aimed at evaluating the quality of insulated windows with solar shielding. These are built with a solar shielding layer inserted in the double-glazing cavity and with a manual or motorised control system.Drafting these guidelines generated the understanding of how this technology cannot be produced only by different companies possessing the required technical skills, but there is also a need to include functional integration between them and the elements they produce.For these reasons, the UNICMI UX95 guidelines tackle different issues like design, performance, technology, safety, installation and durability, looking at the product as a whole that consists of both the insulating window and the solar shielding layer.
Conclusions
As we have seen, choosing new-generation double glazing allows you to protect your privacy and reduce your energy bills without compromising on aesthetic beauty and natural light.Find out more Sunbell solutions by visiting the section of our website dedicated to window blinds.