Health Care & Hospital Window Shades
- Health Care Window Shades
- Anti-Microbial
- Safety
- Health Benefits of Solar Screens
- High Performance Shades & Sustainability
- Hospital Design & Sustainability
Daylighting and evidence-based design
Evidence-based design research has shown that daylighting not only reduces energy costs but enhances the building environment, providing health benefits to patients and creating a pleasant, comfortable workplace. Solar Screen shades, privacy shades and translucent roller shades are an important daylighting component in hospitals and other health care facilities.
Solar shades provide benefits for hospitals and health care organizations:
- Decreased cooling costs
- Decreased glare on equipment display screens and computers
- Daylighting
- Patient wellness and comfort
- Staff Satisfaction
- Improved financial performance of facility
- Integration with multiple building functions
Privacy in healthcare & hospital window treatments
Blackout Shades for Room Darkening & Privacy
Hospitals, doctor’s and dentist’s offices have different needs for privacy. Some exam rooms require complete privacy, and windows need blackout shades. Patient rooms, which are often lit at night, also need the additional view-blocking protection of a blackout shade.
Blackout shades also provide a darkened room environment for patients who cannot tolerate light following optical surgeries and other procedures that leave eyes sensitive to light.
Dual solar shade/blackout shade window treatments
Patient room windows can be optimized with Dual Shade systems employing both solar screen shades and blackout privacy shades. Patient needs vary, and equipping every room with both types of light management makes every room versatile.
Anti-microbial fabrics
Commercial fabrics with antimicrobial properties are essential for patient rooms, examination rooms and high touch areas in hospitals, clinics, and health-care-related environments. Antimicrobial materials are an important part of a hospital’s line of defense against transmitting illness. Insolroll offers numerous fabrics with ASTM G21 certification, as well as various other anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties and certifications, including:
- ASTM G21
- ASTM G22
- ASTM E 2180
- Microban anti-microbial additives
- AATCC30 Part 3
- ASTM D 3273
- Greenguard Mold and Bacteria Standard ASTM 6329
- ASTM E2149-01
Safety requirements for hospital window treatments
We understand that hospitals and health care facilities have specific safety requirements for window treatments.
Safety in operation
- Motorized Operation
- Cordless Manual Operation
- Single Pull Cord Operation
- Child-safe Continuous Bead chain pull shades
Fire Retardant Fabrics
Some fabrics have multiple certifications.
- NFPA701
- California Title 19 (small scale)
- numerous additional certifications; please consult fabric specifications
Fabric environmental standards
Most fabrics have multiple certifications/endorsements.
- Greenguard and Greenguard Children & Schools Indoor Air Quality Certification
- Öko-Tex Standard 100
- Material Content: (lead free, PVC free, etc.)
- Numerous additional certifications/endorsements; please consult fabric specifications
Solar shades preserve the connection to nature, natural daylight and the outside world
- Preserve night and day patterns
- Promote improved sleep patterns in older patients and infants
- Decrease jaundice in newborns
- Promote healing
- Reduce use of pain medication
High performance window treatments control heat gain
Insolroll offers a range of high performance shade fabrics designed to significantly affect the energy efficiency of a building. Reflective shades reduct heat gain and lower cooling costs. Performance can be enhanced by building automation systems to maximize these benefits. In addition to temperature benefits, solar screens allow controlled and meaningful use of natural daylight, which decreases the need for artificial lighting for further energy efficiency.
Read more about high performance shades
Incentivizing daylighting
Because regulations now require better energy management, some organizations are now offering research, design and monetary assistance for projects striving to put daylighting programs in place.
- California Energy Commission; California Title 24
- U.S. Green Building council, LEED initiative
- Power utility companies
- Public and private energy conservation organizations
More information on commercial solar shades
Sustainability and Green Building
Insolroll roller shades offer sustainable options for your project:
- Improved energy performance
- Sustainable Fabrics with recycled and recyclable content
- LEED NC (New Construction), CS (Core and Shell), and CI (Commercial Interiors) Credits
- Environmental Certifications/Standards (most fabrics have multiple certifications; see all commercial fabrics for complete technical data and certifications.
Learn more about these topics and Insolroll’s Building in Shades of Green Program.
Evidence-based design points for light management in health care buildings
- Maintain a connection to the outside world and natural elements
- Provide ample access to daylight, especially where patient-caregiver interaction happens
- Use varied lighting sources throughout the space, including natural daylight, general & task lighting, skylights
- Increase visual connection between spaces
- Utilize varied interior aesthetics with broad social and cultural appeal
- Create multi-use spaces, which may have different lighting needs