Facade cladding and sunscreen: the guide to external solar shading

From the very beginning, man has always sought a solution to protect himself from the rays of sunshine. Today, in residential buildings there is an increasing tendency to favour the use of elements suitable for filtering UV rays, while ensuring the right amount of light and heat, without these becoming unbearable. There are several methods that are used to achieve this goal. Among the various proposals offered by the market, there is one that is becoming very popular, because it combines elegance and functionality. It is the sunscreen, a metal or wooden panel that is applied to the facades to protect homes from sunlight, preventing the passage of excessive heat.

Let’s see together what it is in detail, what it is used for and which type to choose according to your needs.

It is possible to elegantly protect your rooms from the sun by ensuring their coolness thanks to the sunscreen panels. These architectural elements are placed on the facades of the buildings and ensure significant energy savings. In addition, they avoid overheating especially during the summer periods on buildings with large quantities of glass and metals. The sunscreens can be made of aluminium, wood, terracotta, according to the different stylistic and architectural needs. Moreover, they are suitable for covering the facades of offices, shops and apartments, and are used to regulate the intensity of the light coming from the windows.

Sunscreen how it works

The sunscreen is a panel that is applied alternately on the external or internal part of a building, and serves as a shield from the rays of sunshine. This does not limit the comfort nor decrease the passage of the light and the air circulation. The sunscreening systems guarantee that light passes through the slits, while protecting the structure from UV rays and ensuring cooling during the hottest months. The heat from UV rays will, in fact, be shielded by the panel, which allows the building to maintain the internal temperature unchanged, with a significant positive impact on the energy system. The sunscreen panels also have an aesthetic and architectural role, thanks to their variety of shapes, colours and materials, and this allows them to adapt harmoniously to the facade of the building.

Sunscreen what it is used for

Protecting your home from direct sunlight to avoid overheating is important, especially in those structures with large windows and glazing. To create a fresh environment without sacrificing the brightness of large windows, the most suitable solutions are outdoor sunshades. These manage to combine an intensity of light and at the same time shelter from the hottest rays. External sunscreens are shielding systems from the sun that are widely used in architecture for their elegance. They are used to cool and protect structures from solar radiation without causing an unpleasant greenhouse effect. For this purpose, outdoor sunshades were created, shading systems designed specifically to shield the rays of sunshine without taking away the air from the house.

Among the countless advantages of using an external sunscreen panel there are:

• protection from sunlight
• natural house cooling
• energy savings as it reduces the use of air conditioners or fans
• Possibility of mounting photovoltaic panels on it

In addition, in the winter period, outdoor aluminium sunscreens represent a barrier against wind and rain, thus performing an important function of protection and insulation from atmospheric agents.

Sunscreen which to choose

Besides being functional, sunscreens also represent a decorative element of the façade. According to their structure, they can be of two types: fixed and sliding sunshades.

During the design phase fixed sunshades have to be positioned in the best possible way to provide shielding from the rays of sunshine in the areas most exposed to the sun. As a rule, sliding sunscreen panels follow the orientation of the sun so as to regulate the sun exposure of the house.

This type of sunscreen is often used for building terraces as it allows the direction of the panels to be shifted according to the shifts of sunlight. This ensures coolness to the building and protection from solar radiation. As for the materials to choose for the sunshades, they can range from wood which ensures elegance, to aluminium which has a greater thermal transmittance, up to terracotta, which is very resistant to atmospheric agents.

Expanded metal sunscreen

Whether it is business meetings or moments spent at home in total relaxation, it is important for rooms to offer the best conditions of light and comfort. In this case, expanded metal sunscreen panels represent solar shading elements that elegantly cover buildings and shelter structures from unwanted sunlight. Expanded metal sunscreens represent the best solution to keep the work environment cool and to protect spaces from excessive heating of the structure. Expanded metal sunscreens combine maximum architectural effect and comfort with functional utility. They offer excellent total or partial shielding from the sun, protection from atmospheric agents, ensuring the right desired privacy of the buildings. They allow a more or less broad outward view, depending on the model of expanded metal used. In some cases, larger meshes are provided, which allow greater ventilation ensuring air exchange.

Wire cloth solar shading

Another optimal solution to protect the facades of offices, shops and apartments and bring an energy development to the same building are wire mesh solar shading panels. These can be installed as fixed or mobile structures. The play of lights that is created thanks to the metal mesh ensures an intense light to the rooms. The result is a captivating atmosphere that changes constantly throughout the day. The essential characteristics of outdoor wire cloth solar shading can be summarized as follows:

• possibility of installation on new or existing buildings
• partial shielding function from sunlight
• thermal insulation and energy saving inside the building

This type of outdoor sunscreen ensures excellent visibility outside, without any visual restrictions for individuals who live and work inside the building. The metal mesh sunshades therefore constitute a functional and, at the same time, architectural element of a building, ensuring an almost unlimited duration over time.

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