4 ways to reduce glare
Posted on - April 13, 2018Relaxing in your conservatory or garden room, reading the Sunday papers in the sunshine, or watching TV over breakfast. Enjoying as much of the lovely weather as you can.
But, can you really enjoy it?
Reading the paper is hard work with the sun glaring down on you. You can hardly see the cricket on the TV from the sun’s glare bouncing off the screen. Don’t even think about trying to use your laptop — squint as much as you like — sunlight streaming through your windows makes it impossible.
It’s an unpleasant fact that at the very time of year you are inclined to use your conservatory most — glare from the sun renders the room virtually unusable.
The glare at this time of year can be unpleasant, unbearable and unwanted.
So – what can you do?
1) BLINDS
You can use blinds of course. They tend to ruin the effect of the glazed environment. You have all those lovely windows and fantastic view — but have to keep the blinds pulled right down in order to bear being in the room at all. It’s not ideal. And can be very costly.
Constantly messing with the blinds so they prevent the glare — but don’t block out all the natural daylight – is a pain. And if they do need to be pulled all the way down, what’s the point of a conservatory!
What you’re doing with blinds then is effectively creating an indoor tent, blocking out the view and turning up the heat. But hey, at least you can watch TV now, right…?
Blinds also create a gap between themselves and the glass. Throughout the day the air in this gap will heat up — creating further discomfort and turning the room into a sauna.
2) RE-ROOFING
All that glass. And it seemed like such a good idea to go the whole hog and have a beautiful fully glazed roof too. Gazing up at the stars at night. And it looks fab!
(there’s a ‘but’ coming…)
But, when the sun beats down and melts the tiles right off the roof..
…sorry, that’s a song.
When the sun beats down and hits all that glass the heat and glare are magnified. There is nowhere to hide.
Again, blinds can be employed to control this, and can look very attractive too.
A better solution, though a bit more extreme, is re-roofing.
It seemed like a great idea to have an all-glass roof — but in reality it’s just not practical. So, replace the glass with other traditional roofing materials that don’t let the light through.
This is also a bonus if, like me, you live in a seaside town with a multitude of seagulls. If you catch my drift…
3) SUNGLASSES
Don’t laugh. This is a perfectly reasonable solution to issues of glare. Not only are sunglasses very economical and easy to install, they are stylish, allow for individuals own taste, portable (so can be used in more than one trouble-spot) and are easy to use.
High Tech developments even allow you to use lenses that react to the light — so controlling the glare is automatic.
Simple and effective. Bono has been using this method for years.
4) WINDOW FILM
Now you’re talking. With this solution you can not only reduce the glare — but also cut out the heat by up to 70%. It’s simple, elegant and cost effective — and doesn’t change the look or feel of your conservatory.
Hi-Tech Window Film, professionally installed, prevents the transference of heat through your glass so stops the room heating up in the first place. You don’t need to cool it down — it’s pleasant enough already J
No need to pull the blinds, or re-roof – or splash out on designer sunglasses.
You can use the room perfectly as intended. And its not just the spring and summer months that benefit. Window film can help in the winter too — the sun is lower in the sky but can still be very bright and shine directly in to your eyes or line of vision.
And there’s more…
If your property is over-looked by a neighbour, close to a public area or has valuable possessions in view — why not consider using privacy film? Translucent or mirrored, there are lots of styles to help keep you safe and secure and out of sight from prying eyes. Cut out the glare and the unwanted attention at a stroke.