Window Film That Blocks 97% Of The Sun's Heat - Who Needs Facts?
Nothing gets my goat more than quotes like this from the San Bernardino Sun:
"The same holds true with 3M's Prestige series of performance window films, which preserve the view from inside the home. They allow natural light into the home while blocking up to 97percent of the sun's heat.
"Do they actually save on cooling costs? Absolutely," says Jon Hanbury, marketing manager for 3M Window Films, which carries four families of films for the home, ranging in tints from Night Vision dark to Prestige clear as glass.
"It's that ultimate residential product," he says. "It's light. It blocks heat. It's one of those things that unless someone told you it's on the glass you wouldn't know it was there."
Prestige comes with a lifetime warranty against bubbling, peeling and color change. It costs about $9 to $11 a square foot, depending on the scope of the job and style of window. It is available through certified dealers that can be located at www.3M.com or by calling 866-499-8857."
Now here's what I wrote the author of this piece in an attempt to clarify these outrageous, exaggerated claims.
To: Sandra Barrera,Staff Writer
A very brief clarification.
The 3M Prestige Film does not block 97% of the Sun's heat.
Rather the film does a fairly good job of blocking IR invisible heat which represents slightly less than 50% of wavelengths that come from the Sun. The other 53% is in the visible light spectrum.
Therefore the actual total solar energy rejected by the 3M film in their lightest version is roughly 50%. The confusion comes from 3M's own claims about their film blocking 97% of the IR between wavelengths 900-1000 NM which is an extremely narrow bandwidth and practically speaking a meaningless statistic.
Window Films are useful and can block considerably greater amounts of the visible and IR wavelengths in total. The National Fenestration Ratings Council NFRC has established objective tested criteria for window film manufacturers.
You will note that CP Films, Madico, Bekaert, Southwall and 3M have listed the actual tested performance of their films on various configurations of glass.
Regards,
Mike Feldman
President Window Film USA and former National Sales Manager of 3M Window Films (retired 2007)
We'd be near absolute zero somewhere past the once planet Pluto.
Mike Feldman
Categories: Ceramic Film Versus Prestige
Tags: ceramic films versus prestige
Comments