Beat the Summer Sun: Solar Shades That Cut Glare on the Maine Coast

Maine summers are short, and nobody wants to spend them with the blinds closed. But anyone with a west-facing living room or a sunny home office knows the problem. The view is beautiful, and so is the glare on your TV, the heat on your skin, and the slow fading of your furniture.

Solar shades solve this without shutting out the outdoors. If you’re planning ahead for next season (and fall is a smart time to do it), here’s what to know.

What Are Solar Shades?

Solar shades are roller shades made from a special woven screen fabric. They’re designed to block a large share of sunlight, glare, and UV rays while still letting you see outside. Think of them as sunglasses for your windows.

Unlike a standard roller shade, you don’t have to choose between light and a view. During the day, you can look out through the fabric while the room stays cooler and easier on the eyes.

Understanding Openness Factor

The most important number to know when choosing a solar shade is its openness factor, usually shown as a percentage such as 1%, 3%, 5%, or 10%.

• Lower openness (1% to 3%): Tighter weave. Blocks more light, glare, and heat, and offers more daytime privacy. The view is slightly more muted.
• Higher openness (5% to 10%): Looser weave. Lets in more light and preserves a clearer view, with less glare control.

For rooms with intense sun, like a sunroom or a west-facing window, many homeowners choose 3% or 5%. For a spot where the view matters most and glare is mild, 10% can be a good fit. A professional can help you match the percentage to your exposure.

Choosing a Color

Color affects both appearance and performance:

• Darker colors (charcoal, bronze, black) cut glare the most and give the clearest view outside, which is why they’re popular for TV rooms and home offices.
• Lighter colors (white, cream, light gray) reflect more heat and brighten the room, but they can let more glare through and make the view a bit hazier.

Where Solar Shades Make the Biggest Difference

Maine’s coastal light is bright, and a few spots in the home really benefit:

• Living rooms with big windows or sliders: Keep the ocean or yard view without the squint.
• Home offices: Reduce screen glare on monitors and laptops.
• Sunrooms and porches: Make a space usable on days that would otherwise be too hot or bright.
• Kitchens: Tame the morning sun while you cook and eat.
• Rooms with expensive flooring or art: UV protection helps slow fading.

One Maine customer with a south- and west-facing park model home told us their indoor temperatures used to climb dramatically in summer. After we installed custom window treatments, they reported blocking roughly 80-90% of the solar heat. Results vary by home, but exposure like that is exactly what solar shades are made for.

What About Privacy?

This is the question we hear most. During the day, a solar shade lets you see out but makes it hard for people outside to see in. At night, with lights on inside, that flips. People outside can see in more easily.

If privacy at night matters, there are easy solutions:

• Layer a blackout or light-filtering shade behind a solar shade for flexibility.
• Add custom draperies to close at night.
• Choose a lower openness factor for stronger daytime privacy.

Make It Effortless With Motorization

Large windows and tall sliders are exactly where solar shades shine, and also where raising and lowering them by hand gets tiresome. Motorized shades can be controlled by remote, app, or voice, and they can follow a schedule so they lower as the afternoon sun hits your windows and rise again in the evening.

Winter Sun Causes Glare Too

Don’t write off solar shades as a summer-only product. Maine’s winter sun sits low in the sky and shines deep into rooms, producing intense glare on TVs, screens, and wood floors. Solar shades tame that low angle too, while still letting you enjoy the daylight.

Why Plan Ahead

Custom shades are made to your exact measurements, so they take time to order and install. Starting in the fall means they’re ready well before the first hot week of summer, and you avoid the spring rush.

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See Samples Against Your Own Windows

Fabric swatches look very different in your own light than they do in a catalog. Blinds by Design brings our mobile showroom to you, so you can hold samples up to your actual windows, compare openness factors and colors, and get honest advice. We carry trusted brands including Hunter Douglas, Graber, Norman, Levolor, and Bali.

Request a free consultation today, or call (207) 501-2800. We proudly serve Portland, South Portland, Scarborough, Brunswick, Augusta, and surrounding communities. Browse our project gallery for ideas, and see what neighbors are saying in our customer reviews.