Solar shades and cellular shades sit at opposite ends of the window-covering spectrum: one is built to keep your view, the other to seal it up for insulation. Both are great, at very different jobs. Here's how to tell which one your window actually needs.
Quick answer: Solar shades use a see-through screen mesh that keeps your view while cutting glare, UV, and cooling-season heat gain. Cellular (honeycomb) shades use pleated pockets that trap air for the best year-round insulation, but they block your view and most light. Choose solar shades when the view and glare control matter most; choose cellular when insulation and energy savings are the priority. They can even be combined on the same window.
The Core Difference: View vs. Insulation
Solar shades are a flat panel of screen fabric. The open weave lets you see out and keeps the room bright while screening the sun, so you keep the view and control glare, UV, and heat gain. See what solar shades are for the full primer.
Cellular shades (also called honeycomb shades) are made of pleated fabric that forms rows of air pockets in cross-section. Those trapped-air cells are excellent insulators, slowing heat transfer through the window in both summer and winter. The trade-off: the fabric is opaque, so you lose the view and most of the light.
Solar vs. Cellular Shades: Side by Side
| Feature | Solar shades | Cellular (honeycomb) shades |
|---|---|---|
| View out | Yes, through the weave | No, opaque |
| Natural light | Screened, stays bright | Filtered or blocked (depending on fabric) |
| Insulation (R-value) | Low, not its job | Highest, air pockets trap heat/cold |
| Summer heat gain | Reduced, keeps the view | Reduced |
| Winter heat loss | Little effect | Reduced (a key strength) |
| Glare control | Excellent, with view kept | High, but no view |
| UV blocking | ~95–99% | High to complete |
| Best for | View windows, living rooms, offices, sunrooms | Cold climates, energy focus, nurseries/bedrooms |
When to Choose Solar Shades
Pick solar shades when keeping the view and controlling glare are the point, living rooms, home offices, kitchens, sunrooms, and any window with a view worth keeping. They cut cooling-season heat and block most UV without closing off the room. Match the openness to the room with our openness guide; Curtarra's solar option is Leo Custom Weave Solar Shades.
When to Choose Cellular Shades
Pick cellular shades when insulation and energy savings top your list, cold climates, drafty windows, or rooms where you want to hold temperature year-round. They also help with sound dampening and come in room-darkening versions for bedrooms and nurseries. The cost is your view and daylight when they're down. (Curtarra specializes in solar and roller shades rather than cellular, so for insulation-first windows you may be comparing a cellular shade elsewhere against our solar and blackout options.)
Heat and Energy: An Honest Comparison
Both reduce summer heat gain, but they win in different seasons. Solar shades reflect and screen incoming solar radiation while keeping the view, ideal for taming a hot, sunny room you still want to see out of. Cellular shades insulate in both directions, so they also cut winter heat loss, which solar shades barely touch. If your problem is a blazing afternoon sun and glare, solar wins. If it's a cold, drafty window and heating bills, cellular wins. Our guide on whether solar shades keep a room cool goes deeper on the solar side.
Can You Use Both?
Yes. On a window that needs a daytime view and serious insulation or darkness, you can layer, for example a solar shade for the view and glare by day, plus an opaque insulating or blackout shade for night and temperature control. If your "both" is really view-by-day and darkness-by-night, a solar-plus-blackout pairing (see solar vs. blackout roller shades) is the simpler, more common setup, using Curtarra's Derick blackout roller.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between solar shades and cellular shades?
Solar shades use a see-through screen mesh that keeps your view while cutting glare, UV, and heat gain. Cellular (honeycomb) shades use pleated air pockets that insulate best year-round but block your view and most light. Solar is view-and-glare focused; cellular is insulation focused.
Which is better for energy savings, solar or cellular shades?
Cellular shades are better for overall energy savings because their trapped-air cells insulate in both summer and winter, reducing heating and cooling loss. Solar shades mainly reduce summer heat gain while keeping the view, so they help most in cooling season.
Do cellular shades block more heat than solar shades?
Cellular shades provide better year-round insulation, especially against winter heat loss. For summer solar heat gain specifically, both help; solar shades do it while keeping the view, cellular by sealing the window. For pure insulation, cellular wins.
Can you see through cellular shades?
No. Cellular shades are opaque, so they block the view (and come in light-filtering or room-darkening versions). If keeping your view is important, solar shades are the better choice.
Which is better for a sunroom, solar or cellular?
Usually solar shades, a sunroom is about light and view, and solar shades tame the glare, UV, and heat while keeping that open feel. Cellular would insulate better but close the room off, defeating the purpose of a sunroom.
Can you combine solar and cellular shades?
Yes, on a dual bracket you can pair a solar shade for daytime view and glare with an opaque insulating or blackout shade for night. If your goal is simply view by day and darkness by night, a solar-plus-blackout roller pairing is the more common setup.
Keep Reading
If the view is what you're after, solar shades are your answer. Curtarra's Leo Solar Shades are made to your exact window in 1%, 3%, and 5% openness, cordless or motorized. Order free color-card samples to compare the weave in your own light.
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