Window tinting technology has come a long way since the days when only regular dyed window tints were available.
These days, window tint manufacturers use nanotechnology to coat window films in microscopic ceramic particles, providing a whole range of performance enhancements over traditional window tinting films.
One of the most popular and effective ceramic tints for enhancing the appearance and performance of your building’s windows is reflective window film. Keep reading to find out why.
Install Ceramic Reflective Window Tint Film if You Want These 8 Benefits
- Enhance the appearance of your building
- Block out infrared light
- Decrease solar heat gain
- Improve energy efficiency
- Maintain comfortable indoor temperatures
- Block harmful UV rays
- Reduce glare
- Continue to let natural light in and enjoy views
- Enhance the appearance of your building with a ceramic reflective tint
Reflective window films can be used to give entire buildings a facelift. This is especially beneficial if you own an older commercial building that could use a contemporary update.
Reflective ceramic tints are available in a variety of different finishes, with more or less reflectivity, so you can choose exactly how you want your property to look.
For example, a highly mirror-like reflectivity on a glass office building can reflect surroundings and give it a sleek, modern (or even futuristic) look. This enhances the curb appeal for potential clients and building tenants, and can even raise the property value of a commercial facility.
- Block out infrared light
Besides the aesthetic properties of reflective ceramic window films, they offer a range of performance benefits for your building’s windows.
Reflective window films can prevent a high percentage of infrared light, the light that you feel rather than see, from passing through glass.
- Decrease solar heat gain
Solar heat gain is the term for the heat that passes through windows and contributes to indoor temperatures.
Reflective window tinting film can reject a large amount of solar heat gain by reflecting the heat back outwards, instead of letting it just pass through as standard windows do.
- Improve energy efficiency
Because ceramic reflective tinting films block out infrared light and reduce solar heat gain, they also help improve the energy efficiency of your property.
When your indoor spaces aren’t heating up as much due to the sun’s heat passing through the windows, you don’t have to run AC systems as much to cool them down. This improves your energy efficiency and can significantly reduce your monthly utility bills.
- Maintain comfortable indoor temperatures
Since your AC system isn’t constantly battling your windows when they have reflective window film applied, it’s much easier to keep indoor spaces comfortable at all times. This creates a much more pleasant working environment for building tenants and employees.
- Block harmful UV rays
A big problem with untinted windows is that they allow all of the sun's harmful UV rays through. These UV rays are what’s responsible for sunburns and fading of furnishings that receive sun through windows.
With reflective ceramic window tinting film, any furnishings near windows fade at a much slower rate, especially with certain types of films that block out 99.9% of the sun’s UV rays.
- Reduce glare
Another way reflective windows improve working conditions and indoor comfort is by reducing glare from the sun.
This is especially important in offices where employees spend a lot of time working in front of computers and other screens, as it makes it much easier to see what they’re doing.
- Continue to let natural light in and enjoy views
Depending on the exact tint, reflective tinting films can still allow lots of natural light in, so you don’t have to worry about window tinting turning your commercial space into a dark cave in which you have to always keep the lights on.
These films also afford good visibility, so you can still enjoy views of the outdoors, which is another positive thing in offices where people spend all day inside working.
What’s the Best Type of Reflective Window Film?
There is a wide variety of reflective ceramic tints on the market, but the most superior is the 3M Prestige series of sun blocking window films.
These films have relatively low reflectivity, so they allow plenty of natural light to filter through and don’t inhibit visibility. However, they are extremely high performing and will provide you with the full myriad of benefits we discussed above.
Highlights of 3M Prestige ceramic reflective tint film:
- Excellent aesthetics
- Lets lots of natural light in
- Blocks out 97% of infrared light
- Reduces solar heat gain by 60%
- Rejects up to 99% of UV rays
How is 3M Prestige window film applied?
All window films are essentially thin, typically polyester-based, plastic sheets that get applied directly to a window or another glass surface.
There are both interior and exterior reflective window films available. Typically, you apply film to just one surface of the glass, unless there are special considerations or performance requirements that dictate otherwise.
To ensure proper installation and performance of 3M Prestige series reflective tints, it should be installed by an authorized 3M dealer and partner, such as Campbell Window Film.
These professional installers will cut the window film to precisely fit all the windows and glazing that it is to be applied to. They then clean the existing glass thoroughly and adhere the film directly to the glass with a soap solution.
Once reflective window tinting film is in place, you won’t be able to tell that there is a plastic sheet on top of the glass — it looks completely natural, but provides all the desired aesthetic and performance benefits.
The Bottom Line
Reflective ceramic window film, such as 3M’s Prestige series film, is the best of the best in commercial window tinting technology. It will greatly improve the appearance and performance of any building’s windows.
Contact our knowledgeable team of authorized 3M window film providers today to discuss your window tinting needs.
