Solar screens are all over this region for an obvious reason. A west facing window in a Sacramento July is a heater, and a solar screen cuts a serious amount of that before it ever hits the glass.
They also clog. The mesh is dense, it faces the sun and the wind, and it catches everything.
Why these aren’t just regular screens
The mesh is different. Solar screen fabric is a heavier, tighter weave designed to block sun. That density is the point, and it’s also why it loads up with dust faster than standard fiberglass mesh and holds onto it harder.
They’re more delicate than they look. Heavier doesn’t mean tougher. Solar mesh can crease and hold the crease, and once it’s distorted it’s visible from inside every time you look out that window.
Older frames get brittle. Solar screens that have been baking on a south or west wall for fifteen summers have frames that don’t flex anymore. Pulling one out carelessly is how you find that out.
So we handle them slowly, clean them on site, and put each one back in the window it came from.
Dirty solar screens stop doing their job
This is the part people don’t think about. A solar screen works by blocking and reflecting sun. When the mesh is packed with dust, it holds heat rather than rejecting it, and it also blocks a lot more of your visible light than it’s supposed to.
You end up with a room that’s darker and not much cooler. Cleaning them puts the light back and lets them do what you paid for.
Where we do a lot of these
Solar screens are most common on the west and south elevations of newer homes, which around here means Rocklin, west Roseville, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, and Lincoln. Big glass, hot afternoons, and builders who put screens on the sides that need them.
They also show up on older homes across Carmichael, Fair Oaks, and Citrus Heights, usually added after the fact by owners who got tired of an afternoon sun problem.
What we don’t do
We don’t repair, rescreen, or replace solar screens. If the mesh is torn or a frame is bent past use, we’ll tell you and refer you out.
We also don’t clean solar panels. Different thing entirely, and the two get mixed up constantly. Solar screens are the mesh over your windows. Solar panels are on your roof and we don’t touch those.
Questions we get
What’s the difference between a solar screen and a regular screen?
Solar screen mesh is much denser and is designed to block sunlight and heat. Regular insect screen is thin and open. Solar screens noticeably darken a room, which is intentional.
Do dirty solar screens actually make a difference?
Yes. Loaded with dust they hold heat instead of rejecting it and they cut more of your light than they should.
Can you clean them without taking them off?
We take them off. You can’t get a dense mesh properly clean while it’s still in the window, and you can’t rinse it without putting all of that onto the glass.
Will you damage them?
That’s why we go slow, especially on older frames. If a frame looks brittle enough to be a risk, we’ll show you before we pull it and let you decide.
Do you clean solar panels?
No. We clean solar screens, not roof panels.
Do you replace solar screens?
No. We’ll refer you.