Window wisdom: UV Protection

Many people don’t think about how the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can penetrate through windows and ruin expensive furniture, flooring and just about anything else. Luckily, there are three easy routes you can take to reduce the impact of UV rays on the inside of your home:

Window tinting — Tinting windows that receive the most direct sunlight with even an 88% tint (barely dark enough to tell there is tint on the window) will help reduce the amount of UV rays introduced into a room. Not only does this reduce the destructive UV rays, but it also reduces energy loss. Windows that are out of reach and therefore may not have curtains can be tinted even darker, and you won’t notice much of a difference in the brightness of the room.

Solar screens — Replacing your bug screens with solar screens can help block between 50% and 90% of UV rays, depending on the level of protection you choose for each window. Obviously the more UV you block, the more sunlight is blocked as well, so you may want to go with lighter screens on windows that are crucial to the lighting of a room. With windows that are not as important but still have lots of direct light, you might want to go with a higher UV block percentage.

Blinds — Simply installing blinds on the insides of your windows will help block up to 50% of the sun’s energy when they’re fully extended.