Everyone knows what blinds are. Panel blinds for sliding doors are slightly different in that they are meant for larger windows or panels. They are not very common in most households, although many commercial establishments very commonly have them.
They are most useful to cover a large glass area. Most commercial establishments like offices by default have glass facing on the outside. Although this glass will be double glazed which means that their thermal efficiency will be very high, there is still not much privacy because of the glass. Even if this is not too much of a problem as you go higher up, people still like to have panel blinds because it gives them more control over the amount of light that enters into their room.
Tinted glass, although they may be more efficient from a thermodynamic point of view, are not very controllable when it comes to increasing and decreasing the amount of light.
Even luxury houses that have large glass areas tend to have panel blinds for the same reason. The early mornings are very nice, especially if you have clear glass, but this same glass will prove to be your bane when the sun is high in the sky. Installing panel blinds will allow you to draw them back in the mornings, meaning you can enjoy your morning sunrise, but draw them closed because you don’t want the midday sun streaming in.
There are even panel blinds for patio doors for the same reason. Depending on where you live, you may have an open air or a fully closed in patio. While the concept of a patio will be lost if you are going to build walls, having glass means that during the day the room will become a furnace because it will act like a greenhouse. Having panel blinds will allow you to draw them closed during the day and leave them open at night when it is more pleasant.
How you use panel blinds is up to you, and depending on what you want, you can get panel blinds that draw open and close like a curtain, or lift up and down like outdoor blinds. You can have them all electrically powered so that they open and close with just the flick of a switch, or you can use do it yourself. The options are unlimited, and they are in fact much cheaper than using other, more expensive, sun control methods.
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