White or Not?: Hi all - we are in the process of having an extension - still very early days and looking at electric or solar Velux windows for a pitched roof, and one supplier said “don’t get white blinds as they get dirty, opt for the black ones, which are also cheaper”. Is there anyone out there with white Velux blinds who has had this problem and wished they opted for a darker colour? And, is there anyone else out there who opted for coloured or black blinds and how does that sit well colour-wise within the white ceiling. We are aware that the blinds can be wiped with a cloth etc but they will be awkward to reach without a ladder, and it’s not something you want to be doing too regularly. The extension is for an open plan lounge, dining and kitchen area - the kitchen will sit in the existing house, the lounge and dinning area in the extension.
Blackout or Translucent?: There are four internal blind products for electric/solar - blackout, blackout energy, translucent and translucent energy - the energy blinds are pleated honeycomb design so obviously have thermal properties to keep heat in and reduce solar gain - has anyone opted for blackout and wished they had translucent or has anyone opted for translucent but wished they had blackout? Does anyone have the energy blinds - are they any good?
Insect Screens: We were hoping to initially get one blackout blind and one insect screen, but the Velux insect screens are only manual and cannot be fitted like a blind, instead sitting on a frame on the ceiling, so we’ve decided not to go for that option in the hope that blinds will help to deter some insects - any advice on this would also be appreciated. Alternatively, does anyone know of a manufacturer that can produce an electric retractable insect screen and blackout blind that would right sit by the roof window as opposed to a frame sitting on the ceiling?
Anti Heat Awning Blinds: We have a south facing garden so are worried about solar gain as there will be a lot of glass - sliding doors and Velux windows - as far as the Velux windows are concerned you can get translucent external anti heat awning blinds, which are apparently quite effective as they stop the glass on the window getting too hot in the first place - but they are quite costly - does anyone have these? Reviews please. Also, is there anyone else out there south facing who doesn’t have anything and is regretting it?
Rain Noise Reduction - Double or Triple Glazed?: Has anyone had experience of both double and triple glazed roof windows? Velux tell me that double glazed have the same amount of rain noise reduction values as triple glazed, but surely triple glazing reduces the noise significantly when it comes to heavy rainfall?
Solar or Electric?: Apparently, the cost is the same for either option but we have the fear, as do most people, that the solar will run out of charge. A supplier said that is not the case, even if we had a total solar eclipse for a year the blinds would be able to open and close every day for a year as there are hours and hours of charge - however, I would prefer to hear this from someone who has the solar roof windows with solar blinds - so if anyone who has opted for solar windows and/or solar blinds could let me know how they are performing that would be fab thanks. The beauty of having solar of course is that you don’t have to pay an electrician to wire up each window - looks like we will probably have four roof windows - if you guys say electric are the way to go, then we will factor that into our costs.
We look forward to hearing from you all and thanks in advance.