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Thread: Acceptable level of UV radiation in home?

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
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    2

    Acceptable level of UV radiation in home?

    What is an acceptable level of UV radiation in a home, in terms of microwatts per square centimeter? I need to know this information so that I can choose an appropriate Lutron solar shade.

  2. #2
    Authorized Lutron Contributor
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
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    91
    We list the solar transmittance (Ts) number for our fabrics as a percentage of incoming light. For example, our Basketweave2000 fabric, in charcoal, with 5% openness has a Ts of 6%. This means 6% of the outside light gets through the fabric. These numbers can be found at www.lutron.com. Go to "Products", "Fabrics", "roller", then a style and color to see the specifications for that fabric.

    Although we can tell you that only 6% of outside light will Transmit through this particular fabric (other fabrics will be higher or lower), finding an overall acceptable level of UV radiation is in a room is a much more difficult calculation.

    This UV level will change based on your location on the earth, compass orientation (eg. south facing), and season (summer/winter). The acceptable level will also be different for a person, furniture, or sensitive artwork. Unfortunately, calculations of this type are outside of what Lutron would offer.

  3. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
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    2

    Where to look regardng an acceptable level of UV radiation for a home?

    Quote Originally Posted by Tim S. View Post
    We list the solar transmittance (Ts) number for our fabrics as a percentage of incoming light. For example, our Basketweave2000 fabric, in charcoal, with 5% openness has a Ts of 6%. This means 6% of the outside light gets through the fabric. These numbers can be found at www.lutron.com. Go to "Products", "Fabrics", "roller", then a style and color to see the specifications for that fabric.

    Although we can tell you that only 6% of outside light will Transmit through this particular fabric (other fabrics will be higher or lower), finding an overall acceptable level of UV radiation is in a room is a much more difficult calculation.

    This UV level will change based on your location on the earth, compass orientation (eg. south facing), and season (summer/winter). The acceptable level will also be different for a person, furniture, or sensitive artwork. Unfortunately, calculations of this type are outside of what Lutron would offer.
    For the purpose of selecting a suitable Lutron shade, to what resources can anyone direct me for determining an acceptable level of UV radiation for a PERSON in a building? (Resources might include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, etc.)

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Tim S. View Post
    We list the solar transmittance (Ts) number for our fabrics as a percentage of incoming light. For example, our Basketweave2000 fabric, in charcoal, with 5% openness has a Ts of 6%. This means 6% of the outside light gets through the fabric. These numbers can be found at www.lutron.com. Go to "Products", "Fabrics", "roller", then a style and color to see the specifications for that fabric.

    Although we can tell you that only 6% of outside light will Transmit through this particular fabric (other fabrics will be higher or lower), finding an overall acceptable level of UV radiation is in a room is a much more difficult calculation.

    This UV level will change based on your location on the earth, compass orientation (eg. south facing), and season (summer/winter). The acceptable level will also be different for a person, furniture, or sensitive artwork. Unfortunately, calculations of this type are outside of what Lutron would offer.
    For the purpose of selecting a suitable Lutron shade, to what resources can anyone direct me for determining an acceptable level of UV radiation for a PERSON in a building? (Resources might include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, etc.)

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    170
    Here's a link with more links, a quick google search should reveal many more but the specific levels in a building as derived from the sun is an odd question. In a building derived from lighting maybe. Do the windows have any UV filtering built in? Will the inhabitants be in full sunlight, partial or typically not in any direct sunlight at all. Do they burn easy and you're worried about UVA or are they medium to dark skin and UVA is less of an issue? When I pick shades I base the decision on the amount of room darkening I want during the day or privacy I want at night not how much UV will be permitted to pass, well maybe I would if furniture or artwork fading were a concern.
    VAV
    Danbury, CT

  5. #5
    I'm confused... Does "an acceptable level of UV radiation for a person" vary if a person is inside or outside a building? How and why does a building affect this "acceptable level?"

    Further, I wonder what type of uv radiation is of concern? UVA? UVB? What about uv from fluorescent lighting and other artificial sources? What about reflected uv off interior surfaces?
    Even if you did have a number of n uW/cm^2, how then do you "calculate" the correct solar fabric to use? I guess you figure a worst case summer sun uW/cm^2 value and multiply by Ts? I suspect Ts is a value based on the visible EM spectrum, but is Ts basically the same for the UV spectrum?
    I am curious to better understand the motivation for the initial question...

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