Solar Shades for NYC Apartments

Custom solar shades in NYC typically run from about $450–$900 per window for standard sizes on manual chain operation, and $850–$1,500 per window for motorized solar shades on Lutron, Somfy, or Rollease Acmeda systems. Oversized shades for floor-to-ceiling curtain-wall apartments and dual-shade systems (solar + blackout on one bracket) price higher. Every quote includes in-home measurement, fabrication, installation, and motor programming where applicable.

No — that's the most common misconception about solar shades, and it's exactly what makes them ideal for NYC apartments. A solar shade is a tightly woven mesh that filters light rather than blocking it. The room stays bright and you keep clear view-through to the outside, while 80–96% of UV and most glare are eliminated. For full room-darkening (bedrooms, media rooms) we pair the solar shade with a blackout layer behind it.

3% openness is our most-installed solar fabric for NYC apartments — it blocks roughly 95% of UV, eliminates most glare, and still gives excellent view-through to the skyline. 1% openness is the maximum-protection option for art-heavy rooms or direct south exposure. 5% and 10% openness give clearer view-through but let more glare through and are better suited to north- and east-facing windows with less direct sun.

Yes, measurably. A reflective solar shade reduces the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) through residential glass by 40–60%, which directly cuts the cooling load on your AC. In Manhattan condos with full southern or western glass exposure we routinely see clients report 10–20% lower summer ConEd bills after installation, depending on apartment size, sun exposure, AC efficiency, and how the home is used during peak sun hours.

Yes — and they're ideal candidates for motorization because they typically deploy at the same time each afternoon when the sun hits. We install Lutron (best whole-home integration), Somfy (best for retrofits with rechargeable-battery motors), and Rollease Acmeda Automate (best value, whisper-quiet) systems. Motorized solar shades connect to Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Control4, Savant, and Crestron, and we program scenes that deploy automatically by schedule or sun angle.

Yes. We carry full workers' comp and general liability insurance and provide a Certificate of Insurance to every co-op and condo board in NYC. We schedule around freight-elevator hours, doorman release, and quiet-hour restrictions. For board-approval applications we provide product specs, fabric samples, and mounting details so the application moves through quickly.

We install solar shades across Manhattan (Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Tribeca, SoHo, Chelsea, Hudson Yards, Midtown, Battery Park City, Financial District, and every neighborhood in between), Brooklyn (Williamsburg, DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, and beyond), Queens (Long Island City, Astoria, Forest Hills, Bayside), the Bronx (Riverdale), Westchester, Long Island, Hoboken, Jersey City, and Greenwich, CT.