Energy-Saving Benefits of Solar Protection at Home and Beyond

Environmental changes and rising energy costs seem poised to create a perfect storm of worries for homeowners concerned about heating and cooling expenses. Don’t panic, yet—there are some surprisingly easy solutions, like applying residential window film that will help keep you cool and reduce your energy bill at the same time.

As a bonus, you become part of a “virtuous circle.” Save money by cutting down on energy use, and you’ll be saving on your energy footprint, as well. Limiting your use of energy helps the overall economy by reducing the need for imported oil. At the same time, it lowers the amount of harmful pollutants in the environment that result from energy production.

How can adding something as simple as home window film achieve such an impact at minimal cost? Here are some strategies and reasons for using window film to improve your home’s energy profile, and your budget at the same time, as you contribute to a better environment.

Energy Efficient Strategies at Home

Authorities in the U.S. Department of Energy, from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) say that the most effective way to lower cooling and heating bills is to be as energy efficient as possible.¹Solar-based approaches to energy-saving can be as complex or simple as you like, depending on your budget, your current home design, and your goals. Here’s how to get started:

The first, most obvious step is to reflect heat in the form of sunlight away from your house. Windows are the source for as much as 40% of incoming heat. Using the right residential window tinting may direct up to 80% of that heat away.²
If you are planning to replace windows and skylights, you have a prime opportunity to make a difference by installing energy-efficient windows. Whether your windows are new, or due for a retrofit, applying a sun-control type of film, like one of Scorpion Window Film’s specially designed architectural series, will achieve substantial savings.
Reduced incoming heat means your HVAC system gets a break from overwork and keeps your home comfortable for less effort. Here’s another bonus—your system will last longer without the need for repair.
Enjoy even more energy-saving benefits, thanks to more efficient HVAC function, and preserve a cooler environment for electronic equipment and devices.
What about keeping heat in during cold seasons? If you live in a climate with extremes of heat and cold, it is important to choose a window film that adapts. A clear, combination type film can bar UV rays and reduce glare, while limiting cold temperature transmission through glass. The result is greater heat retention inside the home during winter months.
Choose from today’s variety of tinted or clear window films, depending on your needs. Most films are made to allow clear visibility from the inside out. Keep in mind that darker tints may reduce the amount of natural light entering your home, along with the heat, resulting in the need for more artificial lighting.

More Benefits of Home Window Film

Cool and Comfortable at Home

Depending on your choice of film and the strength of screening it provides, you can block up to 99% of the sun’s most damaging UV rays and significantly reduce glare. Sunlight has a damaging effect on furnishings, including wood furniture, upholstery fabrics, drapes, curtains, rugs, and even flooring. Reducing harsh, direct sunlight will preserve your belongings and your home’s interior for a longer life and fresher appearance.

Filtering out harmful UV rays and reducing the sun’s glare makes for a much more comfortable home environment, improving overall quality of life for you and your family.

Look as Cool as You Feel

Tinted window films offer new ideas for changing the exterior appearance of your home, while providing all the practical advantages. Cool, metallic colors create a sophisticated, futuristic look, while softer, naturalistic shades warm up an exterior. Choose your type of residential window tinting to suit both heat reduction goals and your existing architecture and color scheme.

Stay Safe and Secure

Safety and security film is a multi-purpose choice in window film. Made from specially engineered materials that bond to the window, this type of film ensures that shattered glass resulting from a natural or manmade disaster, or simply from a stray baseball, is held together. Besides this enhanced level of protection for your family, you will enjoy all the comforts of reduced glare, and blocked UV rays.

Window Film for Energy-Saving in Commercial Buildings

New window films are designed for use in both home and commercial settings, and for many of the same reasons. Businesses need to operate efficiently and save energy costs. At the same time, commercial buildings are under pressure to meet energy-efficiency standards.

Energy conservation rises to the level of national concern, especially for countries in warmer climates. The Jamaican government, for example, set out to improve energy efficiency throughout their public sector, with a plan to reduce consumption by five percent in five years, ending in 2015. Their program relies on the addition of window films to public buildings, along with cool roof coatings and other strategies.³

Commercial users can choose commercial window tint to reflect modern building styles, such as the Storm Series from Scorpion Window Film, which comes in a range of 5 shades that offer progressively higher levels of VLT (or visible light transmission) range.

Privacy window film is a popular addition in many office interiors. An opaque, frosted, matte option allows light into a glass-walled room or window while preserving privacy, especially important for conference and meeting rooms. As businesses grow, shrink, and change configurations, using privacy window film makes office space adaptable and functional. A flat, White Out film completely blocks visibility from the outside. Similarly, Black Out film provides total blockage of visible light while blocking visibility from the outside in.

Security and safety film helps keep you safe at your office or retail location, as well as your home. There is even an Anti-Graffiti option that inhibits damage to storefronts while blocking UV rays and saving energy. It acts as a low-tech deterrent to would-be vandals or burglars, and enables quick, low-cost fixes to any damage incurred, without the use of environmentally damaging chemicals.

Sources:

For more information about energy-saving window film for you home, visit https://scorpionwindowfilm.com/architectural/