Glare occurs when light from the sun reflects off of another reflective or semi-reflective surface, such as a window, a mirror, or a computer screen.
In commercial buildings, especially offices where there are a lot of people working on computers, glare can be a major issue, making it hard (or impossible) to work at certain hours of the day when there’s a lot of sunlight coming through windows.
This not only makes building tenants uncomfortable, but it also hurts their productivity.
In many office environments, the only way to defeat glare is to close curtains and blinds, which blocks out natural light and inhibits views, which can also hurt productivity by forcing people to rely on artificial light and work in a closed-in space.
But, fortunately, there’s an alternative that building owners can opt for — window anti-glare film for commercial buildings.
What Is Commercial Window Anti-Glare Film?
Window anti-glare film is a special type of commercial window film that’s designed specifically to reduce glare from the sun, as well as decrease solar heat gain and block harmful UV rays.
This type of window film is spectrally selective, meaning it allows some of the sun’s rays in, while reflecting others.
Anti-glare window film greatly reduces glare by blocking just enough sunlight coming through windows that it doesn’t travel all around a room and bounce off of other surfaces, such as computer screens or glass office partitions.
Anti-glare film continues to allow most of the sun’s visible light rays in, allowing natural light inside, but blocks up to 97% of infrared light, which is the light we feel as heat, and harmful UV rays, which are the parts of sunlight that cause furnishings to fade and can lead to skin damage.
Commercial anti-glare film for windows is available in minimally reflective varieties, as well as highly reflective and tinted varieties, allowing building owners to choose the look and level of glare protection they want.
Why building owners should invest in window anti-glare film for their commercial properties
For glass office buildings, glare can be the bane of building tenants’ existence, and anti-glare film will make them much more comfortable and content in their workspaces.
This high-performance window film allows workers to keep enjoying the benefits of natural light and views of the outdoors, which are both shown to lead to higher productivity and job satisfaction.
In other words, building tenants won’t have to keep blinds, curtains, and shades closed to block sunlight and prevent glare-related headaches.
This added indoor comfort helps improve tenant satisfaction and can lead to longer lease periods for your building’s current occupants. Ultimately, this can help improve your net operating income (NOI) by keeping everyone comfortable and happy.
Not only that, but some types of anti-glare window films, known as sun control window film, sun blocking window film, or solar control window film, can also significantly improve your building’s energy efficiency by reducing solar heat gain.
Solar heat gain is a term that refers to the phenomenon of infrared heat from the sun passing through windows and increasing indoor temperatures, which leads to a high reliance on AC systems in many commercial facilities just to make them comfortable for building occupants.
When you use solar control anti-glare film, you can greatly reduce the need to run air conditioning constantly to keep indoor workspaces cool, thereby lowering your monthly utility bills.
For both building owners and building tenants, this is a huge benefit of using sun blocking and glare blocking window film.
Benefits of anti-glare window film for commercial buildings:
- Increased indoor comfort for building tenants
- No need to keep curtains, blinds, and shades closed
- Can help keep building occupancy rates high
- Sun blocking anti-glare films can improve window energy efficiency
- Can reduce reliance on AC systems
- Can significantly lower monthly utility bills
Does Anti-Glare Window Film Change the Appearance of Commercial Buildings?
Window film can change the appearance of your commercial property as much or as little as you like.
For example, if you want to maintain the current appearance of your windows, you can choose a minimally reflective anti-glare film, which won’t significantly alter how your building’s glass looks.
However, if you have other goals in mind, such as added privacy or a more contemporary look for your property, you might choose a highly-reflective anti-glare film that will both add daytime privacy and give your building a modern facelift.
Anti-glare window films can also be combined with other types of window films to achieve almost any look or type of window performance you want.
For instance, there are color-shifting window films, tinted window films, and decorative window films that you can use to significantly change the appearance of your building’s windows, in addition to adding glare protection window film.
In fact, if you’re going to add glare protection film to your commercial property, we often recommend taking the opportunity to give your building’s facade a fresh look — if you’re going for modern performance, why not go for modern aesthetics, too?
For older commercial buildings, a new look, along with the performance benefits of glare blocking window film, can boost the appeal of your property.
This will hopefully help you attract new building tenants and make your facilities a comfortable place to stay long-term for existing tenants.
Closing Words
It’s important to note that not all anti-glare films are the same, and different films vary in how they perform. So, you should always discuss your goals and needs with a professional window film dealer and installer before choosing an anti-glare film for your windows.
Campbell Glass and Films is an authorized dealer and installer of 3M Prestige Series Sun Control Window Film and other anti-glare films for commercial windows. We’ll help you choose the perfect window film for your building and budget!
Our team of window film experts is always happy to address all your questions and concerns. Contact us today for a free consultation or to get a quote!
