What is Shade Factor?
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- publisher
- Bella Bing
- Issue Time
- May 9,2017
Summary
Shade Factor relates to the performance of shade cloth that reflects or absorbs visible and invisible light in the 290nm to 770nm range of the spectrum.
Shade Factor relates to the performance of shade cloth that reflects or absorbs visible and invisible light in the 290nm to 770nm range of the spectrum. Essentially, this is the shade that we can see underneath shade cloth installations on a sunny day. For example, black has a higher shade factor than yellow. This means that the black shade cloth stops more of the visible light than yellow.
This allows designers to choose an appropriate levelof shade for different applications. Whether this may be a high level of shade for an outdoor play area or alesser level of shade for plants in a garden centre.
Shade factor may not necessarily relate to UltraViolet Radiation (UVR) Block. Forexample a shade cloth that offers a shade factor of 77 may offer a UVR block of93%. That is, visible light is stillallowed to pass through the fabric but the fabric still absorbs an amount ofUVR.