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What to Consider When Selecting Skylight Shades

If your home is blessed with beautiful skylights, then your household is also privy to the challenges of finding the right window treatment for the hard-to-reach windows. After all, the needs asked of skylight shades are largely functional, but they still need to be stylish, and the needs may differ greatly depending on the home’s construction and the lifestyle of its residents. So, if you’re looking for new skylight shades begin by addressing the top 3 considerations explained below.

Duette® Honeycomb Shades Edmond, Oklahoma (OK) factors to consider when buying new skylight shades

What to Consider When Selecting Skylight Shades

Light Control Versatility

The primary consideration when selecting skylight shades is what kind (or kinds) of light control do you need? Is your skylight in the bedroom so you want blackout darkness for sleeping? Or is it in the living room so you want to be able to harness natural light but diminish blinding glare? Fabric choice makes a huge difference in the type of light control that skylight shades can provide. The Hunter Douglas fabric collection for shades is expansive with semi-opaque, opaque, and black-out materials in a wide range of colors and patterns; homeowners can find a fabric that will provide both the light control they need and the style they enjoy.

Another element to consider when talking about light control is UV. UV rays in natural sunlight can have harmful effects on your household items causing sun damage (such as warping, color fade, or cracking) and premature aging in furniture, flooring, and décor. So, if controlling sun damage is also a priority for your household, choose skylight shades that offer UV protection like Somner® Custom Vertical Blinds or Vertical Solutions® Vertical Blinds that can deflect or absorb up to 75% of UV coming into your home.

Movement

Another important consideration for skylight shades is their operating system. Skylights are usually hard to reach so having an operational system that offers easy access is key otherwise utilizing your skylight shades can become frustrating and inefficient. Skylight shades from Hunter Douglas have options for both manual and motorized operating systems with user-friendly control. Depending on the style of skylight shade in place, options for Hunter Douglas operating systems may include:

  • Skylift™ skylight system: manual operation with a hand crank or telescoping pole
  • Simplicity™ skylight system: manual operation with a handle or telescoping pole
  • Cord & Chain system: manual operation with a cord and looped chain
  • PowerView® Automation: motorized operation with a choice of handheld remote, wall panel, smartphone app, or integration with an in-home assistant or smart home program

Choosing the best operating system for your skylight shades may include factoring in several elements including which direction a skylight is facing (north, south, east, or west), how accessible or inaccessible is it, what room is it located in, and how often does it need to be opened or closed.

Energy Efficiency

Windows, including skylights, can drastically affect the energy efficiency of a home. The unprotected glass allows precious heating and cooling from within the home escape, and unwanted heat and cold from outside to enter, which makes it hard to maintain a stable indoor environment. Skylights can be especially vulnerable to energy transfer because they are often highly exposed, so choosing skylight shades like Duette® Honeycomb Shades that are energy-efficient can result in remarkable improvements to the energy efficiency of the home. This in turn contributes to the overall comfort level inside by helping to create stable, indoor temperatures in a cost-friendly manner.

If you have great skylights in your home let the team at Premier Blinds help you find equally great skylight shades that suit your household needs and match your home’s décor. Premier Blinds is located near Edmond, Oklahoma, and serves the greater Oklahoma City area including Nichols Hills and Edmond, OK. Request a consultation to talk with a window treatment expert about skylight shades or stop by the Edmond location today.