We’ve discussed the necessity of conservatory roof blinds in one of our past articles. We are going to take a deeper look today at a few creative ideas of conservatory roof shading.

First of all, you need to be aware that the conservatory roof needs special treatments, because it’s exposed to the winter chills as well as to the summer heats, much more than ordinary windows in a home. This is why conservatory roof shading solutions should be more than simple, decorative accessories, but also very good thermal insulators, resistant to UV rays and easy to handle from a distance. Their function is to offer you a comfortable space in your conservatory and to protect the carpets and the furniture, which otherwise would fade and get damaged by UV in a very short time. This functionality comes with a high price tag, so adding a conservatory to your house is not the cheapest thing you can do in this world.

Shades with reflective backings: this is maybe the most inexpensive solution for covering your conservatory roof. Basically, window shades made of common fabrics are lined with a reflective coating which won’t be visible from the inside, but which would act as a barrier for the thermal exchange and as a temperature regulator. One of the most efficient backing materials is Aluminized Mylar, which is a thing that was firs used by NASA for reflecting the solar heat. I found an interesting article on how to make your own sunlight reflective linings for window blinds. I don’t know if you can apply it for the conservatory roof shadings, but at least you could save some money on the other windows in your home.

External shade netting: this is a kind of plastic net which is wrapped around the conservatory roof, dimming the light transmission with 50%. Personally, I don’t like it very much, because I like to be able to allow full light to enter at special occasions, but there are people who think this solution is better than interior shades.

Polycool Solar Control Inserts: these are suitable for polycarbonate conservatory roofs and they reduce up to 85% of the solar heat amount and up to 87% of blinding glare, without a significant light loss. These inserts are available in two finishes: silver and gold. I know Polycool is a trademark, but I don’t know the generic term for this kind of shading. However, if you’re interested, you can search the net and see it for yourself what brands are available within your area. I think it’s called window film technology.

Do you know any other unusual conservatory roof shading solutions? I’d be happy if you shared them with all our readers in the comments. Thank you.