What are Climate Control Solar Blinds™? What are they made from?

Krumpers Solar Blinds™ are transparent, internal, sun and temperature control blinds.
They come as Roller Blinds and Vertical Blinds; Deluxe sidewinder chain operated blinds are used for normal vertical windows while panels are usually fitted to glass roofs, trapezoids or skylights.

Krumpers Solar Blinds™ are installed inside the window, and are designed to reflect the sun’s rays and heat back through the glass before they can heat the room up or cause UV damage. In the winter they are reversed so that they still filter out UV light but prevent heat from escaping through windows.

The composition that makes Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ unique, is that they are made from laminated polyester film.
The film has a thin coating of aluminium sandwiched between the laminations. The polyester gives the film its colour, strength and pliability; while the aluminium, which is so thin you can see through it, provides the medium for reflecting the sun’s rays.

What are the features and advantages of a Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blind™?

They are truly transparent: Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds are as clear as your sunglasses, you could say that they put sunglasses on your windows.
Sun protection: Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ offer excellent protection from the sun, heat and cold.

* Glare reduction: better than most sun glasses, Reflective Blinds reduce glare by between 70% and 80%.
* Fade Protection: Ultra violet rays of the sun are like the noisiest kid in the class, they get all the blame. In reality though they only do about 55% of the damage.
* Reflective Blinds films stop more than 92% of the U.V. rays. This together with about 90% to 97% of the visible rays, and at least 80% to 90% of the infra red rays from the sun will increase the life of furniture and furnishings by a factor of 8 to 10. This means that if carpets take four years to fade to a certain point with no protection at all, that they will take between 32 and 40 years to degrade to the same degree when protected by Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™.

Winter Warmth: Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ will reduce winter heat loss by up to 45%, depending on how they are installed.
Day time Privacy: Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ work like a one way mirror during the day giving excellent day time privacy. There is a security element to this in that you cannot see in through a Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ during the day, or at night when the lights are turned off.
Washable: Although some users never need to clean their Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™, they can be cleaned.

Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ are tough, durable and sun rot resistant.

How do they work?

The two most significant mechanisms a Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ uses to insulate your window:

Reflection to reduce solar heat gain.  This is by far Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ most powerful weapon. The sun gives off electromagnetic waves, and some of this energy we see as light or feel as warmth.  These waves are travelling at 300,000 Km/second and plain window glass is 90% transparent to them. If you place a reflective surface in the path of these rays, you can change their direction by reflection.  Compared with a conventional blind or curtain, a Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ is very reflective, so a large proportion of the sun’s rays are reflected back out of the window before they are converted into heat energy.

A still air barrier to reduce heat transfer from the hot side to the cold side.  A still air space can be a very effective method of insulation. Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ creates a still air space between your room and the glass, this still air space, although not as effective as some bulk insulations, such as one of the foams, makes a significant contribution to the insulation of your room from the heat outside.

Additional still air barriers created by your conventional blinds and curtains can add to this advantage. In the winter time, Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ work to retain warmth, partially by creating a still air barrier, and partly by preventing the warm air circulating in your room from making contact with the cold glass, while still retaining your view.

At the same time Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ in their winter mode become a passive solar collector. For example a 4’x4’ window in direct sunlight creates 2096 BTU’s an hour while still acting as a window insulator that stops the hot to cold air exchange

Where do they work best?

Any sun affected window or any cold affected area, but they are a blind you have when you would really prefer not to have a blind at all, so they work best in a window with a view.
Some of the best views are lost when the sun shines. Whether the outlook is onto water, a tree studded reserve or just the world outside, it is a shame to lose it every time the sun shines or harsh winter conditions make an appearance.
Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ are truly transparent.
They:

• Reduce the heat of the sun: It’s like sitting in the shade.
• Protect furniture and furnishings from fade.
• Reduce glare.
• Give day time privacy.
• Insulate you windows both summer and winter.
• Reduce Energy Consumption
• Reduce one’s carbon footprint
• All while you retain your view

For a Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ to reach its full potential it must be placed where it can take, and reflect the full force of the sun. Therefore Reflective Blinds are always installed in front of all other blinds and curtains. It is always the closest window furnishing to the glass.

Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ are also ideal in high wind areas. Here the Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™, can go on working regardless of the strength of the wind. They have been used successfully in homes, offices and factories.

Are your blinds suitable (or even needed) for a south facing application where I already have double pane, low-E, argon-filled windows?

Yes.  Low-E argon gas filled windows are a very good product within the window category, however even low-E allow for around 60% heat transfer rate through the glass both summer and winter, Krumpers Solar Blinds reduces this transfer to less then 20%.

Will they do any better for winter thermal insulation on a north facing window compared to regular blinds?

Yes. Regular blinds absorb the heat to some degree for both winter and summer application and the insulating factor is around an R2 unless you have the very heavy insulating curtains (velvet / wool) then the R factor goes up to around 8-9. Krumpers Solar Blinds allow for an unobstructed view with an R factor of around 10 (windows are measured in U values, however people are not familiar with the system and we have recalculated the values into an R measurement).

Is there any application where they aren’t suitable?

Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ give no night time privacy, so they are not a substitute for conventional blinds or curtains in the evening. They are not a decorator product in the normal sense of the word, because they do not add colour and texture to your room.

Where do you get your figures from? What is solar heat gain any way?

The performance claims made for Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ has been done under the the same computer modelling software as used by the US National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). This software has been thoroughly validated against laboratory tests in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom — in all climates, hot and cold.

The market profile and returns from high-performance windows are increasing rapidly. Gone are the days when windows were just a commodity to be sold on price alone.

Reduction in solar Heat Gain: This is another way of saying Solar Energy Rejected. Solar Energy Rejected is the ratio of the amount of total solar energy in the full solar wave length range (300-2100 nanometers) that passes directly through a glazing system, to the amount of solar energy falling on that glazing system.

What this means is that on a normal summer’s day, about 600 watts of solar heat energy will fall on every square metre of our eastern and western windows for about four hours every day: the eastern windows in the morning and the western windows in the afternoon.

Solar energy does three things when it strikes a surface:

1. Some is reflected: some of this reflected energy is what enables us to see the object\
2. Some may be transmitted: this only occurs if the object is transparent or translucent.
3. The balance is absorbed by the body as heat energy which raises the temperature of the body. Solar energy is not in itself hot, but it is called heat energy because of this phenomena.

Are there any disadvantages?

• You can crease them
• You can crush them
• You can scratch them
• All of which you can do to most other blinds, but you can’t tear them
• While they are protecting you and your furniture, they are sacrificing themselves to the ravages of the sun
• These blinds are not designed to provide privacy at night when your lights are on
• They are not awnings, and cannot be installed successfully in outside applications
• In combination with screens they can produce a moray visual effect

Is window film a good choice for climate control in my home or office?

1. The sun is still striking the glass causing heat gain in the living space. It cannot be be temporarily removed, it like having permanent sunglasses on your windows.
2. Voids the warranty on the majority of manufacturer’s window warranties.
3. If not installed correctly the customer can see visible lines and bubbles. Even if tint or film is installed correctly – tends to bubble, peel, and crack after a few years of exposure.
4. Window Film,can cause thermal shock fracture when installed on insulated glass windows caused by an increase of heat and pressure between the panes of glass. Think of a really sunny day in winter. This is why window manufacturers void all warranties!

How Are They Installed?

This depends upon the model and the specifics of the site.

How long does it take to have them made up?

Just like the rest of the blind industry it depends on the time of the year.
Delivery lead time is approximately 2 – 4 weeks.

How long do they last ?

Users are reporting that they are still happy with Krumpers Climate Control Solar Blinds™ under a glass roof after ten to twelve years and behind vertical glass after seventeen years. Our only concern with making such extended claims is that although the blind may look fine after that amount of time, it may not be working as well as it was in the first half of its life.

How do I buy Solar Blinds?

Full measure quote, supply and fit service.
So wherever you live, give us a call for a distributor near you.
Phone: 613-864-4921
Fax: 613-829-2718
E-mail: dlivshits@krumpers.ca

How do I remember when its time to reverse my blinds?

We send out an email twice a year, reminding our customers that it is time to reverse their solar blinds.