When Peter Rosteck started renovating what will be a post-retirement seasonal residence in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, one of the first things he noticed was the windows. That is to be expected for Rosteck, who works for Commercial Vision – Window Blinds & Shading Systems in Toronto. Solar control is what he does every day.
Rostek’s home-before FlexLouver.
“The renovation includes replacing most of the window coverings with more contemporary sunscreen roller shade products,” according to Rosteck. “But the trapezoid windows on the west facing elevation of the Living Room presented a problem.”
The windows were covered by manual vertical blinds with unsightly control chains and draw cords.
“This required individual draw cords and tilt chains for each opening,” he says, “Which was quite unsightly and an arduous task if you needed to open and close them on a daily basis. It was also difficult to keep all four vertical blinds in proper alignment for a uniform look.”
Obviously, a new solution was needed.
The trapezoid window shapes meant replacing them with roller shades was out of the question. Then Rosteck remembered Draper’s new line of Solar Control Products, including the FlexLouver Rack Arm System.
“We felt the best solution would be a rack arm system with louvers that could manage solar light control in openings with unique configurations,” Rosteck says. “We also wanted this four window section area to be covered with a single system that would have uniform light/shading control.”
The FlexLouver Rack Arm System is a non-retractable louver system for interior or exterior use. The louvers—or slats—can open and close to control solar energy, light and glare. Each system uses standard components, but is custom designed to meet the specific application requirements.
The “after” picture: with FlexLouver and decorating touches.
“What to do with odd shaped glass—pyramid skylights, circular or semi-circular windows, sloped glazing against and ceiling and more—is a headache to many projects,” according to Clint Childress, LEED®-AP, Green Buildings Coordinator for Draper, Inc. “Often times projects will skip treatments or have a non-operable solution applied. Draper saw this situations as opportunities, and with the launch of the Flexlouver system, we think we have the best solution for many of these cases. The Flexlouver offers one incremental control over light while providing a solution for the headache of a window and the unwanted glare and heat that come with it.”
Rosteck sent Draper a dimensional drawing outlining his plan, and the company’s drafters soon had a system custom designed to match the shape of the windows.
It was just what Rosteck needed. But there was also the issue of how to open and close the louvers for maximum benefit.
“We considered crank operation but did not want to see a permanent or removable crank handle,” according to Rosteck. “RF control was the best option to keep the power source simple and it eliminates the need for switch wiring.”
All in all, Rosteck says he’s pleased with the FlexLouver, saying that it works well for what is a unique window configuration. It’s a definite step up from the previous solar control solution.
“The new FlexLouver treatment looks clean, uniform and can be adjusted quickly with the press of a button,” according to Rosteck. “[This is] a far better solution for solar shading control.
