Effect of fabric shades optical properties on indoor daylighting conditions: An overview

Several studies have examined the impact of fabric roller shades on building energy consumption, visual, and thermal comfort. These works mainly focus on glare, outdoor view, and daylight availability. However, a review that comprehensively and jointly analyses the results obtained in the aforementioned studies is lacking. To address this gap, this paper conducts a literature-based review that aims to describe, analyse, and discuss a set of studies that examine the impact of fabric shades optical properties on glare, outdoor view, daylight availability, and colour, focusing on methodologies and results. Since the study concentrates on fabric optical properties and their impact on the mentioned daylight parameters, it excludes shade system dynamics and exclusively analyses conditions where roller shades are fully deployed. According to the paper findings, glare and outdoor vision clarity are the two parameters where the impact of the optical properties of fabric roller shades has been most extensively studied, including the efficiency of the metrics used to describe their performance. Regarding daylight availability, further research is needed using dynamic daylighting analysis. The colour-related parameters have received the least attention to date. Psychophysical research is required to determine whether current colour metrics are appropriate for testing the effects of fabric optical properties on chromaticity and colour rendition. Nevertheless, the conclusions reached in this paper can serve as guidelines for architects and building professionals and can guide the development of a fabric selection tool that includes all the analysed parameters.