What is sun damage?

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

What is sun damage of your furnishings and home

The sun can damage skin, as well as furniture and clothing and any article that is subjected to too much sun exposure. Ever notice how outdoor cushions get that faded look? That?s due to sun exposure.

It?s not a good idea to have a window in your closet if that window isn?t covered with blinds, a shade or a curtain because the sun will cause your clothing to fade.

Unless you live under a rock, you already know that sun can damage your skin, even causing skin cancer. Sun is also hard on your eyes. Wear sunglasses.

Protect your furniture, belongings and yourself from sun damage by installing window coverings that block out the dangerous ultra violet rays. These rays have no business being inside your home so keep them out. You may not realize it but you can be exposed to ultra violet rays while inside. Although UVB rays, which cause sunburn, aren?t usually a concern inside a building, UVA rays that result in wrinkled skin can infiltrate your home or office with out too much effort.

New homes are built with larger and more windows which increases your risk of being overly exposed to the sun while inside your home.

Ordinary windows offer some protection against UVB rays but do not provide much protection from UVA rays. The amount of UVA that comes through a window depends on what kind of glass it is and what type of coating has been put on the glass. You may have ordinary glass (which is clear glass) in your home, reflective glass, which means you can see out better than see into the home, or tinted glass.

That clear glass in your living room window is letting as much as 75 percent of the UVA rays enter your home. Reflective glass and tinted glass allow between 25 and 50 percent of UVA rays into the interior of your home

With this in mind, you must figure out a way to provide UVA protection for yourself and family members while in the house. This is going to require window coverings that block the rays. You want energy efficient blinds for your home such as solar shades, cellular shade, vertical blinds or wood blinds. These provide you with protection from the sun (as well as protection for your furniture) and help you keep heating and cooling costs down. You are killing two birds with one stone.

When selecting energy efficient blinds for your home you are going to encounter words such as UV transmittance, shading co-efficient and R-value and you need to know what they mean.

UV transmittance measures how well a window covering is preventing UV rays from coming into your home. The lower the UV percentage, the better it is providing you with protection.

Shading co-efficient measures the amount of heating that is going through the window when there is a window treatment in place versus how much heat gain there is through a bare window or one with no blinds or curtains. Heat reduction is better when the shading co-efficient is low.

R-value means the efficiency of a window blind or covering when it comes to preventing energy from going outside. The higher the R-value the more insulation is offered.

Other terms you are likely to encounter include visual transmittance which means how much light you are capable of seeing with the naked eye; solar transmittance, which is the percentage of solar energy that is able to pass through the window covering, and solar reflectance, which is the amount of solar energy that the window covering absorbs.

Consider cellular blinds or shades, which are made purposely to conserve energy. A cellular blind is also called a honeycomb blind. It has layers that join at pleated areas in the blind and which create compartments that trap air which provide insulation.

Light filtering shades block UV rays and prevent sun damage, yet allow the homeowner to see outside. These shades also reduce sun glare and filter the light that comes into your home.

We all need some sun exposure because it helps us produce vitamin D. People who are house-bound often have a vitamin D deficiency because they are never exposed to the sun, and this isn?t good. However, care must be taken to protect your skin both while outside and indoors.

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In addition to using protective window coverings or tints, you can safeguard your health and give yourself added protection from the sun by eating foods that contain vitamins A, C and E. Eat fruits and vegetables which are antioxidants.

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