By: Natalie Pease for Insolroll
Now don’t freak out, I’m not talking about evil spirits or Voodoo dolls. I’m talking about KOOLBLACK™ Solar Screen fabrics. A fabric for our interior solar screens line that has baffled and amazed many of us here at Insolroll. An employee even nicknamed this fabric “Black Magic”. We have been carrying KOOLBLACK interior solar shades fabric for a number of years now, and its attributes have yet to disappoint us. I feel KOOLBLACK deserves a little extra online attention, given its unique “powers”.
What is so KOOL about this fabric? There is a special component to it that actually reflects the light that is usually absorbed by black fabric. Remember how hot you feel when wearing a black t-shirt in the middle of July? Well now you can keep your black solar screen shades down all summer long, without having to worry about the room temperature rising from heat absorption. Different from our SilverScreen, which reflects UV rays off of a silver coating on the backside of the shade, there is no front or backside to these shades. The fabric is the same color from every angle; giving you the interior and exterior look you want for your building. This state of the art technology has only recently been made available and is now being used for many different functions. Military helicopters, motorcycles, roof shingling and now, solar shades, are all examples of applications for this technology to keep black materials cool. But how does this technology really work? The PVC coating (with special KOOLBLACK qualities) reduces the amount of heat absorbed by the fabric, and increases near infrared reflection.
For more technical information about this fabric, check out the video below:
Insolroll offers two fabrics with KOOLBLACK technology, E-Screen with KOOLBLACK and T-Screen with KOOLBLACK. Both have the ability to reflect more infrared light than normal solar screens. The T-Screen takes high performance one step further with a dual colored fabric. The white side, has the reflective properties of the KOOLBLACK technology and naturally from the color white… making it ULTRA-REFLECTIVE! The E-Screen with KOOLBLACK fabric colors also align with our Equinox fabric line. Putting Equinox fabric on the sides of your building that don’t get as much light will save you money, and keep your color consistent.
So why does this matter to you?
- You can save money on your Air Conditioning bill, because the shades will reduce up to 20% of heat gain from UV rays.
- BOTH the white and black fabrics reduce glare in your room more than normal solar shades.
- KOOLBLACK fabrics reduce glare, keep your rooms cool, maintain the outside view, and keep a uniform street view of your office building windows.
- KOOLBLACK E-Screen has coordinated colors in our Equinox fabric, so in applications with more than one facade, windows that handle tougher heat gain (like south or west-facing) can be treated with KOOLBLACK E-screen shades, and windows on the facades with less heat gain (like north) can be treated with Equinox. So there is the ability to match screen materials but still save money on the entire application.
Mermet has partnered with BASF, the world largest chemical company, to create this innovative solar screen fabric. We are proud to be able to use this fabric as an option for our interior solar screens. Our product has been used both in commercial and residential projects, and is a practical and eco-friendly window solution. Go GREEN with KOOLBLACK.