UV Window Film

Back in the good old days, window film was invented to reduce temperatures in buildings and homes. Too much solar energy (as well as UV radiation) entering windows without window film increased heat, making occupants uncomfortable and air conditioning more expensive to operate. Window film was a simple solution for a simple problem.

Today the issues facing building managers and related decision makers are anything but simple, and extend beyond overheating and energy conservation. Today’s indoor building management challenges include dealing with stale, under-ventilated and circulated air, moisture and mold growth, off gassing of furniture and non environmentally friendly building components, and the impact of such conditions on the productivity, health and well being of building occupants due to the lack of window film.

Sick building syndrome not only threatens building occupants, but also it can result in litigation that threatens the bottom line of employers and building owners alike. Knowing how glass lacking window film performs will make clear the role of environmentally friendly UV window film in mitigating the ability of glass to negatively impact the indoor environment.

 

Environmentally Friendly Films

Unlike solid walls, windows and fixed glass allow the relatively easy transmission of heat and light (as well as UV radiation) into a building’s interior. Since glass without window film in built and yet-to-be constructed buildings will continue to account for a significant percentage of a building’s envelope, building managers and related decision makers must understand how glass performs in terms of heat and light transmission when developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy for managing a building’s environment and indoor air quality.

Take the issue of heat for example. According to the California Energy Commission, as much as 40 percent of a building’s cooling requirements are from heat entering through existing windows without window films. Reducing heat in a building is usually considered to be a legitimate and exclusive HVAC function.

As a supplement to HVAC, using heat-blocking environmentally friendly UV window film not only reduces air conditioning operating frequency and cost, but also can placate many building occupants who believe “conditioned” air is less desirable to work or live in than non-conditioned air. According to an internal study conducted by the ECOS Corp., “Intensive air conditioning all year long was identified as having a strong negative impact on the quality of the office environment.” A strategy to manage a building’s environment must rely on an adequate HVAC system whose ability to reduce heat is aided by the simultaneous implementation of appropriate heat blocking environmentally friendly UV window films.