These days, we're all looking for ways to reduce our costs - particularly when it comes to heating and cooling our home. One of the more popular after market products that can reduce energy bills in summer and winter, is solar window film. If you want to reduce the amount of heat that is coming through your windows in summer, you may be considering retro fitting solar window film. But how effective is solar window film and is it just a short term solution?

Why is my home so hot in summer?

The reason your home heats up in summer will likely be due to several factors. The good news is that there are some simple things you can do to cool your home.

Buildings heat up because of the absorption of heat from the sun through roofs, windows and walls. Lack of ventilation, preventing warm air from leaving, and letting cooler air in, also increases summer temperatures inside. Heat proofing your home means starting with the largest areas of weakness and reducing your overall summer heat load.

The two places to begin are the areas letting in the most heat - the roof and windows. Ensuring your roof is well insulated is really important, as is preventing heat from coming through your windows.

Stopping heat conduction through your roof and windows is one of the best ways of improving the thermal efficiency of your home.

Making windows more energy efficient

Window efficiency is measured as a U rating, and refers to how readily a window conducts heat. The lower the U value, the better. Single glazing conducts heat very easily and so has a high U rating of around 8. You may have also heard of R rating. This measures thermal resistance. A single glazed window usually will have an R rating from 0.125 to 1. For better performance, the objective is to lower the U value and have a higher R value.

Double (or triple glazing) is one of the ways of making a building more energy efficient and lowering the U value. Unfortunately most older buildings only have single glazing, and replacing windows is very costly. There are other ways to improve the thermal performance of your home, without having to replace windows.

Installing window film will significantly cut down on heat transfer. Installing high quality solar window film is an alternative to retro fitting double glazing, and it costs about a quarter of the price of double glazing.

Installing solar window film costs a quarter of the cost of installing double glazing.

What is solar window film?

Solar window film is a synthetic, adhesive film, that can be applied to all types of glass, windows and doors. It works by reflecting UV rays, preventing them from penetrating the glass.

Solar window film was first developed by NASA for spacecraft, and while the early commercial versions didn't always work well, manufacturing has come a long way since the 1970s. Today high quality solar window films are very effective at reducing heat gain by up to 79%, and can rival the effectiveness of tinted glass.

High quality solar window films are effective at reducing heat gain by up to 79%

Does window film really work?

Solar window film is affordable and quick to install, but that doesn't mean it performs poorly. Solar window films are very effective at improving thermal efficiency, reducing air conditioner use and keeping your home at a comfortable temperature.

Not all solar window films are the same. High quality films are hard wearing and have UV inhibitors that resist ultraviolet rays, that cause cheaper films to discolour and break down. They also reduce glare.

• Reduces heat up to 79%
• Reduces glare up to 83%

• Blocks up to 99% of UV rays
• Reduces glare up to 83%

 Other advantages

Window film has other advantages too. Not only is it affordable, easy to install and very effective, it also retains visibility while it works. This gives solar window films a big advantage over external blinds, that block visibility and make the inside of your home dark.

 Installing Solar Window Film

Solar window film is a very effective and affordable way of reducing your cooling costs and keeping your home cool in summer. Combined with shading on north and west facing windows and proper ventilation, you can make a significant difference to cooling your house and reducing your reliance on air conditioning.

Apply To Glass install solar window film in homes and businesses across Melbourne. We are Melbourne's most experienced window film design and installation business.