By Corey Philip // Aug 15, 2023

A screen you can see out of, but no one can see in.

That’s the myth….. its a large myth.  In fact we get over a dozen calls a week from customers looking for a “screen you can see out of, but no one can see in.”  The truth is, no such product exists.  The mythical privacy screen you hear of is simply a dense solar screen being labeled as ‘privacy’.  In cases where the solar screen has been applied for privacy, customers are generally unhappy with privacy as you will see below.

1
This darker area (releative to the other point) is solar screen commonly sold as ‘privacy screen’.
2
This section is regular screen.

What you see above is the “privacy screen” next to a standard screen.  I’m sure we can all agree, that privacy stuff, just isn’t too private.


The Privacy Screen Myth Explained

Many people believe such a product exists because they have screens on the windows of their house which make it difficult to see inside during the day. This is because of differential lighting. When the sun is shining bright and it is comparatively dark inside the house you can’t see inside, conversely if it was dark outside and you had a light on inside the house everyone would be able to see inside because it is brighter. Solar screens, exaggerates the effect of the lighting.

With a screen enclosure you will have similar lighting inside and outside the enclosure so no matter how tight the weave of the screen you can see inside the enclosure. In the case, of a solid roof screen room or under truss lanai, or garage, the with tightly woven solar screen provides a high level of privacy.


Here’s an example of the 90% solar screen (same material as the image above) used in an under roof application. In this situation the material is effective for privacy.

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Corey Philip

About the author

Corey began working on screen enclosures as a teenager in 2004 after hurricane Charley devastated his home town of Punta Gorda. 7 years later, after holding positions from foreman, to sales, to project manager, while attending college at Florida Gulf Coast University, Corey and childhood friend Thomas Davis founded Gulf Coast Aluminum in 2011. With a focus on delivering an unparrelled level of service, the company has grown by leaps and bounds under their leadership. Today you’ll find Corey answering the phones In his free time Corey likes training for triathlons, running the trails at Ding Darling park on Sanibel Island, and of course, working on growing Gulf Coast Aluminum.