House windows facing east...

CodeZero · August 29, 2012

I live in the great state of North Dakota, which has temps from the mid 50's and 60's in the overnights to 90's in the day. Much like other states in the Midwest. I was told by my film sales guy to use a film that has less then 43% Solar Energy Absorption for dual pane windows that face directly south and receive constant sunlight. They do not have a Low E coating on them, they are regular tempered glass.

But, what Solar Energy Absorption number could I use for windows that face east and only receive direct sunlight part of the day? Or facing west? Those would be the same as the east ones I assume. Or windows facing north, you could probably use as dark as you want there, correct?

coast2coasttinting · August 29, 2012

you could go with the same film on the east facing windows, as long as you don't have any shading issues. Also if a film is rated to absorb 43% that is on single pane glass. That same film will absorb more when installed on dual pane glass.

DenMcM · August 29, 2012

Tempered? ... non issue for TSF

vquestfilms.com · August 29, 2012

Tempered? ... non issue for TSF

x2 Yep, he's good to go. :thumb

CodeZero · August 30, 2012

Tempered? ... non issue for TSF

Tempered? ... non issue for TSF

x2 Yep, he's good to go.

So you're saying the only time I have to worry about thermal stress fractures is when I'm working with single pane, non tempered glass?? :thumb

So I can go as dark as I want on dual pane, tempered glass?

coast2coasttinting · August 30, 2012

you might not have to worry glass breaking but you still have to consider what will cause seal failure. A cloudy window can piss a custy off just as bad as having a glass break.

vquestfilms.com · August 30, 2012

Tempered? ... non issue for TSF

Tempered? ... non issue for TSF

x2 Yep, he's good to go.

So you're saying the only time I have to worry about thermal stress fractures is when I'm working with single pane, non tempered glass??

So I can go as dark as I want on dual pane, tempered glass?

Tempered is 4x stronger than anealed glass. The only thing you would have to worry about in the breakage department is "NSI." If that is present in the glass it won't matter what you put on it, NSI's can break a clear piece of temepered.

Seal failure is arguable, if you have an IGU that is not quality then I'd steer clear of real high TSA films. If it is a quality unit then there is no defining evidence published that links films to premature seal failure. Afterall, the seals fail on un-filmed glass all of the time. So who's fault is that?

Tint Eastwood · September 1, 2012

Afterall, the seals fail on un-filmed glass all of the time. So who's fault is that?

:bingo We do service calls for many different window manufacturers and I have yet to replace any glass that has seal failure with film on it. I've seen plenty of filmed glass with seal failure, but I have seen 20 times that amount without film on them. :dunno

CodeZero · September 3, 2012

Awesome info, thanks guys! Ya, my old apartment building windows had seal failure on all of the windows facing south.. they were not tinted! Very good point!

Tintguy1980 · September 3, 2012

The IWFA actually has a print brochure highlighting a mid to late 90's study pitting film and unfilmed dual pane units against one another; result was seal failure occurred at the same rate for either sampling.

Nickel sulfide inclusion (NSI) for the most part is found in tempered glass; Google the terms and have plenty of reading.

Annealed glass only needs a 50 degree F difference in temp from the middle to the edge for it to break from thermal stress, making the East facing the most vulnerable (especially in high elavations); for tempered the number is 200 degree F difference. This does not acount for edge flaws either.

So, NO would be the answer to being able to put any film on single pane annealed glass without issue; only tempered has the capacity to withstand dramatic increases in thermal stress from applied film products.