Unique blinds?

So what’s unique about our thermal blinds? Well, for starters, they are truly insulating, unlike most other ‘thermal’ blinds which rely on either a single layer of foil material or open-ended folds of paper-like material containing tiny pockets of air. Our blinds have 3 insulating components – two layers of Mylar – a reflective, resistive metal-coated ployester. These both keep heat in and stop solar overheating. Then a 7mm thick Thinsulate layer, made of thousands of tiny [15 micrometres (µm) in diameter], fibres, trapping air (& used in Jag soft-top roofs, apparently). Together these materials bring the insulation level to the equivalent of triple glazing. No other blinds on the market achieve this level of insulation.

Secondly, unlike most roman blinds which hang in front of your wall or window, they fit tight against the frame and overlap at the top & sides, bringing the overlapping edges in contact with your window frame. This reduces gaps around the edges to a minimum. And thirdly they have tiny hidden magnets sewn inside, matched by self-adhesive magnets (just 1mm thick) which you put on your frame. This gives a very snug fit and stop that down-draught from cold glass which can drop into your room. Continue reading

Components – the magnets

One of the key elements to reducing heatloss using thermal blinds is to get a good edge seal between the blind and the frame when they are down. This is achieved using high-performance magnets which are sealed within the blind along the outer edges. Each ‘internal’ magnet is then paired with a self-adhesive magnet attached to the window frame, which ‘click’ tightly together when the blind is lowered. They are described by the manufacturer as “Ultra High Performance Neodymium Magnets” – the most powerful permanent magnets known. They are supplied in nickel finish but can be painted on site (we’ve used Humbrol enamels) to match your frame.

We use 10mm diameter N42 Neodymium Magnets. The NORTH pole is on the showing magnetic face and the SOUTH pole is on the face covered in adhesive. These Magnets are plated with 3 layers of protective coatings – Nickel + Copper + Nickel (Ni-Cu-Ni). More technical details are below; Continue reading