The sun is a very powerful force indeed. Especially when you consider the earth only receives about one two-billionth of the sun’s total energy. We have all experienced the power the sun has to fade and damage,whether it’s the paint on your car or your favorite chair.
Sun light contains three types of energy rays:
- ultraviolet radiation
- visible light
- infrared radiation
Ultraviolet (UV) is the most dangerous and damaging. Ultraviolet rays break down the chemical bonds in coloring dyes, causing the color(s) in an object to fade over time. Some objects are more prone this bleaching effect, such as dyed textiles like carpet, drapes or furniture. Given enough time in the sun, everything eventually fades.
So how do we slow down the fading process in our homes?
When it comes to UV fading and damage in the home, UV light entering from windows is responsible for almost 100% of the problem. The perfect solution is to filter out the majority of the sun’s damaging rays, while still retaining enough of the visible light spectrum to properly light the room. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by using an exterior shading solution such as an awning or an exterior shade screen. These exterior solutions not only filter out the majority of the damaging UV rays, they also stop the heating rays of the sun before they enter the window.
The EZ Snap exterior shading material typically filters out up to 90% of the damaging UV radiation from the sun, as well as, 90% of the heating rays of the sun.
