Window security bars change the environment of the home, but security screens are only slightly darker than a regular bug screen. The high-tensile 304 grade wire is tremendously strong, without a dramatic effect on visibility. QMI has tested the screens by hitting them with hammers and crowbars. After significant efforts, they were able to create a small hole in the mesh. However, this small hole did nothing to permit access to the window or enable the intruder to get any closer to entering the home.
Security bars change the view out the window and create and environment of fearfulness. The Roll-a-way Stainless Steel Mesh product is virtually undetectable. QMI installed a test screen on one window in a Florida home. The view from inside the home toward the exterior was unnoticeable through the stainless mesh protected window versus the standard bug screen in the adjacent window. From the outside looking in during the day, the stainless mesh was darker than the bug screen, but if all the windows were protected, it would just have the appearance of heavily tinted windows.
In fact, the black wire cloth reduces UV rays by 60% and reduces solar heat gain by 22%. These bonus features of the mesh reduce fading of a home’s interiors and lower the cost of cooling the home. Interior glare is also reduced, while still allowing visible light into the interior space. Steel security doors obviously change the look of the home and become a visible element while not providing much more in terms of security.
Most peoples choose to remove their existing bug screens and just utilize the stainless mesh. The mesh provides the same protection from critters, or probably more, as many existing screens have holes where lizards and large bugs may enter. No need to worry about grasshoppers munching on these screens. Ventilation is also essentially the same with the stainless mesh as it is with current aluminum or poly bug screens. In conclusion, the Roll-a-way stainless steel mesh is a super-duty window protection reducing energy costs, reducing fading, allowing ventilation, and keeping out critters, regardless of species.