The comprehensive slat selection guide: find out which type is the most suitable for your home

Before you reach for the slat catalogue

The current fashion trend in residential and commercial buildings is large glazed surfaces. In this situation, bear in mind that the maximum width and height of external blinds is 5 meters and the maximum cover area is 20 m². You will prolong service life of the blinds if you choose guiding rails (they are more durable than guide wires) and if you have them installed by an expert.

In NEVA, we mark the blind types by a letter and a number. The Z-90 external blind features “zed” shaped slats with a width of 90 mm. The S and C types are also named after their shapes, while the F marking is an established principle.

If you live in mountain areas and want durable blinds, choose them based on the slat shape. The most durable blind slats are the S and Z types, with the C type being less robust and the F shape being the most delicate.

The low-cost versions are crank-operated. The blinds are raised and lowered by turning a crank, each section separately. When installing a crank-operated blind, you must calculate with sufficient space on the window frame. A motor gives you more comfort. You will then operate the blinds with a wall button or a controller. And, using a remote control, you can easily operate more sections simultaneously. You can also connect the entire shading to sensors and switches. From a central control, you are only a step away from using intelligent operation with pre-set scenarios within the Smart Home paradigm.

If you are not building a house from scratch and do not intend to incorporate the blinds in the façade, consider the amount of light taken by the package of the raised blinds. This is lower for wider slats – you need fewer pieces to cover the window area. The lowest packet is the F-80 blind because of the flat slats.

Decide how the blinds will be assembled based on the construction phase of your house. For finished constructions, you should choose installation under a cover plate, which is installed on the window or a façade system whose anchor elements are mounted on the façade. If the façade is not finished yet, we recommend the installation of a built-in ISO-KASTL cover.

Choose a suitable slat type

You can find the most popular slat types on the market in NEVA’s basic offer. Let us now have a look at those which are suitable for most houses and flats.

External blinds Z-90 and Z-70

The “zed” are the most popular and universal choice in shading houses as well as large office buildings. This applies especially for the Z-90 version, which fits modern buildings because of its technical appearance and “zed” shape. If you close the blinds completely, only very little light will enter the room. This makes them perfect for shading bedrooms. Yet they can also regulate light in designers’ rooms of administration buildings.

In offices, we recommend an upgrade to the Z-90 slats in the form of split tilting, where you can for example shade half of the window and leave the other half open to have enough daylight in the room.

Each “zed” slat has a rubber seal rolled into one side. When you open the blinds, there is no clinging of metal on metal and the blinds do not disturb you even in the wind. In the 90 mm version, the blinds are so stable that up to a width of 1 m they can withstand gusts of wind of up to 88 km/h.

In the case of Z-70, the slats are more densely spaced, so bear in mind that the packet will take more light from the interior. Yet this option is more elegant and fits narrower window reveals where the 90 mm size cannot be installed without protruding out of the façade.

Basic parameters of Z-90 and Z-70

• The shape resembles the letter “Z” and therefore they precisely fit into each other when closed.
• They are strong and durable.
• You can tilt them to one side up to an angle of 90 degrees.
• They are very silent even in bad weather.
• They are perfect for shading large windows and French doors.
• They are operated by a crank or motor.
• We have both versions in the standard 22 colours

See the result of shading a barrier-free villa using the Z-90 slats →

External blinds S-90

We use the “S” slats to finish unusual buildings – mostly of an organic design. If you find the more technical “Z” version too sharp for your tastes, the S-90 will make the façade more gentle.Thanks to their typical shape, the wavy slats are very wind resistant.

They fit into each other perfectly with the shape of a wave, thus letting very little light enter the room. When fully closed, they even resemble roller shutters with which they can be easily combined. Like the sharper “Zed”, also the “Es” has a seal rolled in the slat edge. So even when the wind blows, you will hear nothing in the room.

Basic parameters of S-90

• Thanks to the “S” shape, they precisely fit into each other.
• You can tilt them to one side up to an angle of 90 degrees.
• They are very silent even in bad weather.
• They are perfect for shading large windows.
• They are operated by a crank or motor.
• We have the “S” type in 22 standard colours.

See how our S-90 slats match a house with a pond in pristine nature →

External blinds C-80 and C-65

You can tilt the “C” slats in both directions. On the upstairs windows, you can tilt them to the other side to ensure that nobody will see inside the interior from below. And at the same time, you will still let enough light enter the room.

The C-80 and C-65 slats have round edges and they do not touch each other when closed – they are thus pleasantly silent. You can guide the C-80 and C-65 on guiding rails or by a guide wire.

If you desire a gentle design and choose the C-65 version with a guide wire, a version with a wind and rain sensor will be beneficial. It will detect worse weather and raise the blinds at the right time to prevent damage to the slats. The narrower versions looks better on small windows, typically garages or bathrooms. But bear in mind that they have a higher packet. When using the C-80, don’t be afraid to have larger areas shaded.

Basic parameters of C-80 and C-65

• They tilt in both directions, thus protecting the privacy at the required angle.
• The “C” shape is gentle and its C-65 variant is also very elegant.
• They are silent even in bad weather.
• In combination with a guide wire, they will complete and not interfere with the atypical design of your building.
• They are operated by a crank or motor.
• We offer the C-65 type in 14 and the C-80 in 22 standard colours

Read how our C-80 slats cope with 40°C heat in Israel →

External blinds F-80

The “F” slat got its name from the German word flach = flat. Compared to the “C” version, the slat is flatter and not reinforced on the sides. As a result, it has a very low packet. You can easily control the light in the room by tilting the slats in both directions, thus directing the rays to the floor or ceiling.

The F-80 is a universal and low-cost slat version popular for shading administration buildings. However, on large buildings, this type is less stable and is more frequently installed into sandwich glazed façades.

Basic parameters of F-80

• It tilts in both directions, thus protecting your privacy.
• The flat shape has a very low packet.
• They are a universal and low-cost slat version.
• They are operated by a crank or motor.
• They are guided by guide wires or guiding rails.
• We offer the “F” type in 5 basic colours

Now, all that remains is to choose the colour of your external blinds

If you have chosen the slat type, see how their colour affects their maintenance and the climate in your interior. Advice in the article was given by our product specialist and the architects:
How to choose the colour of external blinds? Consider the maintenance and the climate in the interior →