Motorised blinds help an A rated Dublin home with three problems that big glazing brings: glare on screens, neighbours looking in, and rooms that overheat on sunny days. Because they can close by themselves on a schedule or when a room gets too warm, they work even when nobody is home to pull them.
New and deeply retrofitted homes in Dublin are built to keep heat in. Walls, roofs and floors are well insulated, the house is airtight, and the windows are large to bring in daylight and free solar heat in winter. In summer, the same design can work against you. The sun pours in through a west facing kitchen or a glazed gable, and the heat has nowhere to go. This guide looks at what blinds can and cannot do about it, and why automating them makes a real difference.
Why energy efficient homes overheat
A study carried out for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Overheating risk in new dwellings (AECOM, 2019), modelled new Irish homes built to current energy standards. It found that solar gains and ventilation are the main drivers of overheating, rather than the insulation itself. Larger glazed areas raised the risk, west facing rooms did worse than south facing ones because the low west sun is harder to shade, and restricting how far windows can open made things worse again.
The same study found that well designed shading considerably reduced the risk, and that movable external shading performed best. It also made a point that matters for anyone choosing blinds: internal blinds and movable shading only help if the people living in the house actually use them.
That is the case for motorisation in one line. A blind that stays open on a hot afternoon because everyone is at work or school does nothing. A blind that lowers itself at two o'clock on the west side does its job every day.
What motorised blinds solve in a Dublin home
| Problem | Where it shows up | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Glare | Kitchens, home offices and TV rooms with large glazing | Solar screen fabrics that cut brightness and keep the view |
| Privacy | Ground floor rooms facing the road or overlooked gardens | Sheer or screen fabrics by day, closing fully at dusk |
| Overheating | West and south facing rooms, glazed gables, roof lights | Blinds that lower on a schedule or when the room gets warm |
| Sun damage | Timber floors, rugs, art and furniture | Blinds that close during the brightest hours when the room is empty |
| Sleep | Bedrooms on long summer evenings and early mornings | Blackout fabrics that close at bedtime and open gently in the morning |
Choosing the right motorised blinds for each room
Living areas and kitchens
Solar screen fabrics are the workhorse here. They are woven to cut glare and some of the heat while you can still see the garden. A darker colour on the side facing the room usually gives a clearer view out. These rooms are also where the schedule matters most, because the sun moves across the glass through the day.
Bedrooms
Blackout roller blinds, often paired with curtains, keep bedrooms dark through the short summer nights. A bedtime scene can close them with the lights, and a morning scene can open them slowly at the time you want to wake.
Roof lights and high glazing
Roof lights and tall glazed gables are often the worst for heat and the hardest to reach. Motors are the only practical way to use blinds there at all, and these are the windows where automatic control earns its keep.
Home offices
A screen fabric that closes when the sun reaches the desk saves squinting through video calls, and can open again as soon as the sun moves on.
Inside or outside the glass?
External shading stops the sun's heat before it reaches the glass, which is why the SEAI study found that movable external shading performs best. It is a decision for the design stage, with your architect, because it affects the look of the house and the way the windows are detailed.
Internal motorised blinds are what we install. They are the practical choice for most existing homes and for any window where external shading is not planned, and they deal with glare and privacy in a way external shading alone does not. For heat, close them early, before the room warms up, and pair them with good ventilation such as opening windows at night where it is secure to do so. That is easy when the blinds run on a schedule rather than relying on someone remembering.
How the control works
We install Lutron and Crestron roller blinds, curtains, Roman blinds and shades, with wired motors for new builds and battery or wireless motors for existing windows. They can be controlled by keypad, app, voice, schedule or scene, together with your lighting control. Useful scenes in an A rated home include:
- Afternoon sun: the west facing blinds lower to a set height on sunny afternoons.
- Away: everything closes at dusk, so the house looks lived in.
- Good morning: the bedroom blinds open slowly at a set time.
- Film: the living room blinds close with the lights for a film.
If you are building or extending, plan power and recesses before plastering so the blinds disappear into the ceiling when open. Our self build guide to motorised blinds wiring covers that step, and if you are choosing Crestron, our post on Crestron shades looks at its latest fabrics. Heating controls and blinds can work together too, as our guide to heat pump controls explains.
More on what we fit is on our motorised blinds in Dublin page and our blinds and curtains page.
Questions we are often asked
Will motorised blinds stop my house overheating?
They help, especially when they close before the sun hits the glass, but internal blinds cannot do it alone. Good ventilation, and external shading where the design allows, matter as well.
Can blinds close by themselves when a room gets too warm?
Yes. As well as following a schedule, blinds can be linked to your smart home so that they close when a room gets too warm.
Can motorised blinds be fitted to an existing A rated house?
Yes. Battery and wireless motors mean most windows can be automated without new cabling, so there is no need to disturb the airtight layer.
Which fabric is best for a west facing kitchen?
Usually a solar screen fabric, which cuts glare and some heat while keeping the view of the garden. Choosing the fabric is part of the survey.
Are motorised blinds noisy?
Lutron and Crestron motors are among the quietest available and are designed for bedrooms.
If your Dublin home is bright and beautiful in winter but too hot and too exposed in summer, we will look at each window with you and plan motorised blinds that look after the house even when you are out.
Book a consultation or call our Dublin office on 01 906 9326.
- Log in to post comments