Blinds and Offices: Why Companies Are Now Taking Their Windows Seriously

Several years ago it could have been said that few companies took their window treatments completely seriously. In fact, they were a side-thought – something left until the end of an office renovation process. However, developments in the industry and in the world as a whole mean that this is no longer the case and blinds actually play one of the most prominent parts in the internal design of office space.

There’s no doubt that technology is one of the main reasons why this occurs. Once upon a time one of the biggest grievances for the typical office worker was the glare from the afternoon (or morning, depending on your location) sun. It would shine straight onto any computer monitor, making it impossible to work from. Most of the time, companies turned towards basic curtains to block out the effects, or a blackout blind which meant that there was a lot of synthetic light shining down in the room. As anyone who has worked in this environment will vouch, a lack of natural light is perhaps one of the most depressing and even painful drawbacks – so the reliance on light bulbs certainly wasn’t pleasant.

The computer glare problem was solved relatively easily, with companies manufacturing anti-glare blinds. Originally, these may have been targeted at the domestic customer looking for something to prevent the dreaded glare from hitting their television screen on a weekend. However, it goes without saying that offices are in even more need of such products, so they have become a popular fixture there as well.

Considering the emphasis that it placed upon companies to improve their energy efficiency, we should also add a point about this and blinds. In the summer months, any office which was basked in windows would be subject to the greenhouse effect (and we’re not talking about the carbon, scientific term here either). In other words, the heat would become intolerable and again something that would make the office environment an awful place to work. Air conditioning units usually had to be purchased and we don’t need to say too much about their effects on energy efficiency…

In truth, any blind could resolve the above problem. However, manufacturers have started to make specialist solar blinds, which are able to repel the rays from the sun and ultimately prevent the dreaded greenhouse effect. It’s yet another example of the soaring technology in this industry, but another which can help office-based businesses function smarter and more efficiently.

The above issue revolving energy efficiency leads us perfectly to this next section. The government are pushing a lot of companies to “reuse” buildings, rather than build specialist offices and place unnecessary strain on the environment. This has meant an upsurge in the amount of offices that are now based in city centres.

The above means that there is the small issue of privacy – whereby offices have plenty of peeking eyes from members of the public wandering past. Admittedly, this isn’t something that is going to hinder every single city centre office, but it can pose a problem for some. It is another example where technology in the blinds industry has aided offices, with inventions such as the top-down bottom-up shade allowing both privacy and natural light.

This is another one of those “small” improvements that can be made to window treatments, but another which can make the world of difference to those people who work in offices, and those that pay the energy bills.

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