Do Window Screens Block Heat? Solar vs Standard Mesh

Every window screen blocks some sunlight, because the mesh casts a fine shadow on the glass. Standard fiberglass mesh is woven open on purpose, for airflow and a clear view, so the heat it stops is small. A sunny room may feel slightly less harsh with window screens in, but they are not what keeps it cool.

Solar mesh is different. It is woven much denser, and its job is to stop the sun before it reaches the glass. That is where it counts: once sunlight has come through the glass, its heat is already inside the house.

Solar mesh catches much of the sun's heat and glare on the outside of the window, instead of letting it through the glass. The room behind it stays cooler, the glare on floors and TVs drops, and less direct sun reaches the furniture and floors that fade in it.

Solar mesh comes in different densities. The denser it is, the more sun it blocks, and the darker the view out.

• Heat: standard mesh blocks a little; solar mesh blocks much of it
• Glare: standard mesh barely changes it; solar mesh cuts it noticeably
• View out: standard mesh is the clearest; solar mesh is darker
• Daylight: standard mesh lets nearly all of it in; solar mesh makes the room a little dimmer
• Airflow: standard mesh lets the most air through; solar mesh, being denser, lets less through
• Privacy: in the daytime solar mesh makes it harder to see in; at night, with the lights on inside, that reverses

Both keep out mosquitoes, flies and other insects.

Solar window screens earn their place on the windows that take direct sun for hours. That is usually the west side, which gets the hot afternoon sun, and the south side, which gets sun for much of the day here. East-facing windows get the milder morning sun, and north-facing windows rarely need it.

Most homes put solar mesh on a few windows and keep standard mesh on the rest, so the shaded rooms keep their view and daylight. Our post on the best window screens for Florida homes covers the other mesh choices.

They can help. Sun stopped outside the glass is heat the air conditioning does not have to remove, and the difference is biggest in rooms with large, sun-facing windows. How much it saves depends on the house, the windows and how the air conditioning is used, so we do not promise a number. What most people notice first is that the sunny room is no longer the hottest one in the house.

You do not need new window screens to get solar mesh. If the frames are straight, solar mesh goes into the frames you already have, which is window rescreening. Window screens that are bent or corroded get replaced, and windows with none get custom window screens, either way with solar mesh if you want it.

Call us if:

• A room on the west or south side stays hot all afternoon
• Glare on the floors or the TV is a daily problem
• You want solar mesh on some windows and standard mesh on the rest
• The mesh on your sunny windows is faded or brittle anyway