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Overview Benefits Features Thermal Stress Fading Heat Reduction Glare Reduction
Privacy Safety Film Security Film Tests Warranty Pricing
Overview:
Most films on the market today are
produced with a UV inhibiting layer and a scratch resistant coating giving
protection from day to day knocks and bumps.
Generally there are two types of
film construction:
1. Dyed Polyester films,
2. Sputtered / Metalized films.
Dyed
Polyester Products have been on the market for 30 or more years and
come with 7-10 year warranties.
Sputtered /
Metalized products are the new technology films and have longer
term warranties from 12 years to lifetime. They are generally a little more
efficient in performance as well. The big breakthrough with these products is
that they experience minimal colour loss over their life, ensuring a high level
of performance for an extended period of time. A wide range of Performance level films are
available in each range.
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Benefits:
· Reduces radiant heat by up to 80% – looks and feels cooler in
summer.
· Reduces penetration of UV rays by
up to 99% –
protects furnishings from fading.
· Increases Privacy – allows looking out without
others peeking in.
· Reduces glare – shields the eyes from stress.
· Boosts window security – offers superior safety and
delays intrusion attempts.
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Features:
· Applied directly onto glass – most glass types can be tinted
with an appropriate film.
· Unobtrusive – allow more light to pass
through without affecting natural colours.
· Long lasting – designed to keep on protecting
for a lifetime.
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Thermal Stress:
Different films have different
solar absorption levels (this means that the amount
of heat from the sun is absorbed differently for each film type). As do different types of glass. A poor film selection
on the wrong type of glass can cause
Thermal Stress, (which is a nice way of saying Glass Breakage). There are other
factors as well but this is the primary offender. Most films have been tested
on most types of glass, and manufacturers' film to glass guides will take most
guesswork out once the glass has been identified. A glazing assessment is
recommended.
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Fading:
Most
sun control films today offer 99% UV protection. However this is only part of
the problem and other elements need to be considered.
Fading is caused by:
· 40% UV rays,
· 25%
direct sunlight,
· 25% solar absorption,
·
10% miscilanious dyes in fabric, heating/cooling, cleaning applications etc.
To establish some
protection from fading we must find a product that will
reduce some sunlight, reduce some heat absorption and
give protection from UV rays. High performance products on the
market can offer up to 80% fade
protection
but with high performance, generally a compromise is required and that means the loss of more
natural light. A very good alternative is a midrange film which can offer 65 - 70% fade protection while still
providing about 60% heat reduction and comfortable light levels.
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Heat
Reduction:
This is the most common use for
window films. A general rule of thumb
is that the higher the level of performance,
the higher the light loss. In other words the more heat kept out, the less
light let in. Light transmission levels vary and each individual has their
comfort level. Choosing a dark high performance film on a hot cloudless summer
day seems a natural choice, but it is wise to consider how the room
would look in autumn or winter. After all the film will be on the window all year round and you don't want to solve
a summer problem to create a winter one. Therefore a mid range film with a
slightly lower heat reduction level but with much better light transmission may
be best.
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Glare
Reduction:
Glare and
Light are one and the same. Most people looking to substantially reduce glare do so with a dark blue/charcoal coloured film. The dark films are
the highest solar absorption products so care to ensure the chosen product is
safe for the existing glass needs to be established.
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Privacy:
All Film
applications offer some degree of Daytime Privacy - the level of privacy will be determined by how
dark or how reflective the product you choose
is. If there is another light source (e.g. windows on the other side of the room), then your privacy
level will be reduced. Solar Films are designed to reduce heat & glare. In a night time situation where lights are on, these
products will offer no privacy from the outside.
Opaque or Obscure Films are a great solution where privacy is required but you
are still looking for some light source.
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Safety Film:
Clear and tinted
safety films are available and when applied to thin annealed glass they upgrade
the glass to a level that protects and reduces the risk of personal injury
should glass breakage occur.
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Security
Film:
Security films
come in clear or tinted style. These products generally have impact strengths
of 175 PSI (pounds per square
inch) and are designed
to hold glass fragments together on the film and within the frame should glass breakage occur. They are an excellent
deterrent to would be opportunistic thieves and work best in conjunction with vibration sensor alarm systems.
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Tests:
Many of the MEP films have been
rated on a Window Energy Rating Scheme. The tests reveal that their rating for
keeping radiant heat out in summer falls between two to four stars. This gives
between 50% to 80% decrease in heat gain directly from the sun noticeably
reducing the rise of temperatures when the sun rays are penetrating the glass.
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Warranty:
MEP films, the distributor of the
films that we use, issue a lifetime warranty for films in the residential
sector. For commercial applications the warranty is 12 years. In both cases the
warranty is not transferable upon sale of the premises to the new owners.
Winfocus Australia adds to this by giving a two year warranty for the
application of the film onto the glass.
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Pricing:
The standard pricing for tinting averages
to around $90 per square meter applied onto the glass. When safety or security films are
used the price increases to around $120 per square meter applied onto the glass.
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With thanks to Rayban Window
Tinting (Perth, W.A.), who are the authors and copy write holders of some of
the information provided here.
