What is Shade Factor?

Shade Factor relates to the performance of shadecloth that reflects or absorbs visible and invisible light in the 290nm to 770nm range of the spectrum. Essentially, this is the shade that we can see underneath shadecloth installations on a sunny day. For example, black has a higher shade factor than yellow. This means that the black shadecloth stops more of the visible light than yellow.

This allows designers to choose an appropriate level of shade for different applications.  Whether this may be a high level of shade for an outdoor play area or a lesser level of shade for plants in a garden centre.

Shade factor may not necessarily relate to Ultra Violet Radiation (UVR) Block.  For example a shadecloth that offers a shade factor of 77 may offer a UVR block of 93%.  That is, visible light is still allowed to pass through the fabric but the fabric still absorbs an amount of UVR