With the increased interest in saving energy and controlling UV ray damage, more and more homeowners are looking to 3M Window Film to meet their needs. The great thing about window film today is that so many options are available.
Looking for more security? There are amazing privacy window film options out there. Or perhaps you’re hoping to liven up your living space with decorative window film. Again, there are a plethora of options to choose from. That’s why we’re here. The ClimatePro team is dedicated to not only helping you choose the right window film for your home but also offer education on the many benefits of professionally installed window film.
The 3M Prestige series offers an array of films that can really reduce interior glare with keeping your clean and clear. You can read more about this innovative film here. Also, to discover more about the 3M Prestige Series, including a really unique testing system to help you select the best window film for your home, request more information, and, of course, the ClimatePro team is ready to assist you with any of your questions. You can contact us to set up a free consultation.
The second privacy window film we recommend is the Ultra Series, another 3M Window Film innovation. The Ultra Series is an amazing product that continues to get rave reviews. This film offers superior privacy protection and performance while maintaining a high level of clarity. It also can be combined with other 3M Window film products for the best of both worlds. Perhaps though, you’d like to know how window film can truly benefit you. We’re going to discuss 4 ways that it can.
Energy Savings
For good reason, we all care about saving on our energy costs. We’ve found that many of our customers understand that window film can play a part in this endeavor, but not all understand how. Here are a few facts that can help you as a homeowner understand just how beneficial professionally installed window film can be in this regard.
As noted by the EPA or Environmental Protection Agency in a report in their Energy Star building upgrade manual, during the winter months, a homeowner can lose more heat through their windows than the Sun brings in. Their suggestion? Use reflective window film to keep the Sun’s heat inside your home.
What about in the summer months? You might think that having blinds and shades would keep the Sun’s heat out of your home sufficiently. The truth is, even with those protections, the Sun’s rays still penetrate the room, causing a rise in cooling costs as your air conditioner struggles to keep the room cool.
We’ve found that installing window film throughout the San Francisco Bay Area has led to substantial energy savings for our customers. We have such a diversity of weather zones in the Bay Area: from the coastal cool of Marin and San Francisco to the high heat of summer on the other side of the Caldecott Tunnel.
Some homeowners might be tempted to simply replace their current windows rather than adding window film. Actually, a tremendous amount of money can be saved by simply installing window film on your current windows. Professionally installed window film can deliver up to 7 times the energy savings per dollar spent versus a complete set of replacement windows. Doesn’t that sound more reasonable?
Additionally, many of our San Francisco Bay Area customers are also environmentally conscious. With that in mind, think of the impact of replacing a full set of windows versus installing window film. The tear-out, disposal, and installation of new windows create a tremendous amount of waste products that will end up in our landfills. That doesn’t include the time and expense involved in finding the right company to do the removal and installation. With window film, you get a clean installation with little waste. Plus, the energy savings is good for the environment as well. That is indeed a win-win for everyone!
3M offers 3 window film series specially designed to help homeowners save money on their heating and cooling costs. Here’s a rundown on each:
- Prestige Series: From 3M: “The Prestige Series window films use non-metalized, multi-layer optical film and nano-technology to reject up to 97% of the sun’s infrared light and reject up to 60% of the heat coming through your windows. These films also reject up to 99.9% of damaging UV rays to reduce fading of your furnishings. These industry-leading, spectrally-selective films are designed to keep you cool, comfortable, and protected.”
- Ceramic Series: From 3M: “Amazing clarity. Advanced ceramics allow these films to maintain their color and appearance over time. The Ceramic Series films reject up to 80% of the sun’s infrared light and reject up to 59% of the heat coming through your windows. Ceramic Series films also block 99% of UV rays, significantly reducing fading of your furnishings. The Ceramic Series films allow 30% to 50% of the natural light into your home.”
- Night Vision: From 3M: “Better sight at night. Night Vision window films help block the sun’s damaging UV rays, reduce glare and reject up to 71% of the sun’s heat. These darker-shaded films are designed to reject solar heat that is produced from visible light while providing significant glare relief. Night Vision films allow 15% to 35% of the natural light into your rooms by day, and thanks to a low interior reflectivity, you can still enjoy the view out by night. Plus, higher exterior reflectivity means you can enjoy enhanced privacy with your windows both day and night.”
We feel confident that there is an energy-saving window film that is the right fit for your home. With the options available, it’s little wonder that so many San Francisco Bay Area residents have decided that installing window film makes perfect sense in their energy-saving efforts.
UV Protection
A discussion about UV protection usually centers around sunscreen and for good reason. Using sunscreen is an essential part of your skincare regimen. It’s well known that using the right sunscreen can not only keep your skin youthful and radiant, but it is a leading way to protect yourself from skin cancer. The question is, is there a way to bring that same UV protection into your home? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Not only can window film protect your skin from UV damage, but it can also protect your furnishings as well.
First, let’s discuss what UV rays are. UV or ultraviolet rays come from the Sun and have three wavelength ranges: UVA, UVB, and UVC. The first two pose the greatest threat to your skin, even though they make up the smallest amount of the Sun’s rays. On National Window Film Day, we shared the video you see below. It’s interesting to see what people think about UV rays and residential window film.
As you can imagine, the sun’s rays indeed pass through your windows and impact anything it touches, including your skin. Hence, professionally installed window film is a great way to offer a measure of protection for you and your family from the Sun’s harmful UV rays. With 1 in 5 Americans affected by skin cancer, the advantage of using window film becomes obvious. Your family deserves the best protection possible, and we believe that window film can help provide it. Even the Surgeon General of the United States recommends protective window film as a viable way to reduce sun damage that can cause skin cancer.
What about your furnishings? You’ve probably seen it for yourself if you’ve ever moved a piece of furniture in a sunny room that has been stationary on a rug for some time. The fading that occurs becomes instantly noticeable when you see that the shaded area under the furniture is darker than the faded area around it. Window film helps to protect both your furniture and your flooring from the Sun’s harmful rays, adding years of usability to both. Artwork stays unfaded and protected, and furniture retains its color, thanks to window film.
You might wonder whether applying window film will cause your rooms to become dark and less inviting. We’re happy to report that, because of advances in window film technology, your room can maintain its bright and cheerful appearance with the application of 3M Window Film. Recent innovations have created films that let a significant amount of light into the spaces they protect. For instance, the Prestige 70 window film from 3M allows up to 70% of the natural light in while offering superior UV protection.
Safety and Privacy Window Film
One of the biggest concerns for homeowners these days is safety and privacy. After all, your home is supposed to be a haven, and keeping your family safe and secure is a top priority. What a lot of San Francisco Bay Area residents are discovering is that professionally installed window film can assist with both.
When it comes to safety, there are two areas of concern that we’ve seen with our customers. The first is making sure that residential windows contribute to theft prevention. For instance, in the summer months, many homeowners hit the road and want to know that their homes are secure. For good reason then, the International Window Film Association recommends using window film. They noted that the FBI’s statistics indicate an increase in home invasions for the months of July and August, the two busiest travel months of the summer. By using window film in entryway windows especially, “Safety window films when professionally installed on windows may slow down a thief by holding the glass together and making it harder for a thief to get through the glass, which may discourage them from breaking in.”
3M offers a selection of window film that is designed to offer a superior form of protection. One is the 3M™ Safety & Security Film Ultra S600. Check out this video to see the level of protection this innovative window film offers.
Reading the list of qualities that make this film so unique helps you to understand why so many of our customers prefer it for their security needs. This leads us to our second area of concern regarding the use of safety window film: earthquake protection. Read here to see how window film can help to keep your family and home safe during an earthquake.
Decorative Window Film
Based on our website traffic and the question we receive from customers who contact us, decorative window film is growing in popularity. The good news is that there are a ton of options available for decorative window film for the home. Decorative window film can enhance your space while still offering you the protection that you’ve come to expect from 3M Window Film.
One of the films that 3M offers is the Fasara decorative window film. This film is so flexible! You can change the texture of the film, and you can vary the degree of opacity to suit your needs. We find that a lot of our customers are familiar with decorative window film being used in commercial applications but are surprised to see how flexible it is for residential spaces. Check out this gallery below of some of the jobs we’ve completed.
It’s great to see a satisfied customer who has used various window films for their home and have achieved the desired effect: a safe and secure home full of light and life. Again, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We’re more than happy to assist our San Francisco Bay Area. Here are a few other articles that you can read to learn more:
