What You Need to Know about Residential Window Tinting
If you reside in a region where the air conditioner runs throughout the day, energy-saving residential window tinting can allow you to save money and lower your energy bill.
Centuries ago, tinted windows were on the grandest mosques, cathedrals, and palaces of Europe and Mesopotamia. Five decades ago, high-tech window films were available only to scientists at space agencies such as NASA.
However, today, window films and tints are a viable option for us regular people who are looking for an affordable, easy, and cost-effective way to add privacy and energy efficiency to our homes. These films can also improve the curb appeal of our homes and reduce our cooling bills. Here’s what you need to know about residential window tinting.
What You Need to Know about Residential Window Tinting
A residential window tint is a thin layer of film similar to what you find on car windows. Like car window tint, it can help block out the sun’s UV rays, helping to control the flow of heat through your windows.
Newer technology has allowed for significant advances in the product, making the options more effective and less visible. Today, you can choose from a variety of options, such as the classic mirrored solar film, which offers the highest level of HVAC efficiency and privacy. You can also go for a security film that offers protection from natural disasters and home intrusions or a decorative film to beautify or add privacy to a room.
Here are some other things you should know about residential window tinting.
1. Residential Window Tint Can Protect Your Belongings
Maintaining the vitality of your furniture and other decorative items is important. You don’t want your items to appear old or faded. High amounts of sunlight in your home can lead to fading problems, forcing you to repair fairly new items.
Investing in residential window tinting can help you overcome the problem of fading items in your home. With properly installed window tint films, UV rays won’t be able to penetrate your home. This will prevent your valuable furniture items from getting damaged.
2. Your Home Value Will Increase
There are plenty of improvements you can make to your house to improve its curb appeal and increase its value. However, residential window tint is a small investment with a significant payoff. The right home window tint will give your home a sleek look along with several benefits that will make excellent selling points in the future. Whether you’re updating parts of your home or going for a major renovation, window tint is something you should consider.
3. You Won’t Have to Deal with Glare
Glare from the sunlight can have a huge impact on your productivity and comfort. For instance, the glare on your television or computer screen can be annoying and might block your view entirely, which impacts both your leisure time and work.
Residential window tinting doesn’t just block the heat from the sun but also minimizes the blinding glare that comes through at certain times in the day. This way, you can look at the computer screen or watch your favorite movie with ease.
4. Not All Kinds of Window Films Are Suitable for All Kinds of Window Glass
Different kinds of window films absorb different levels of heat, which certain windows are designed to handle whereas others aren’t. Most security and decorative window films block very little heat and thus don’t put too much thermal stress on a window.
Unless your installer recommends against it, you can generally apply them to all three common kinds of window glass – annealed, heat-treated, and insulation – with minimal danger of damage to the window glass.
If you’re ever in doubt, talk to the experts at a professional window tinting company and get their advice to identify a compatible window film.
5. Older Windows Can Benefit More from Tinting
Today, it is common for windows to come with energy-efficient coatings, known as low-e or low-emissivity coatings, that allow them to block out the heat.
Nevertheless, older windows generally don’t have this kind of coating. This consequently means that they get the most benefit from window tinting. If you have an older house with older windows, you might notice that residential window tinting improves your comfort and reduces your energy bills significantly.
6. Applying Window Film Can Nullify Your Warranty
Several homeowners report window damage to their manufacturer only to discover that they nullified their window manufacturer’s warranty by installing a window tint. In fact, a lot of manufacturers won’t cover issues caused by altering windows with aftermarket window film due to the possibility of some kinds of window film damaging certain types of window glass.
Pro-Tip: You should always start the residential window tinting process after checking if your window manufacturer’s warranty covers the window tint application.
7. Residential Window Tinting Doesn’t Cost a Lot
Residential window tinting, even with professional installation, is usually cheaper than getting brand new windows.
If you go with new energy-efficient windows, you might find yourself spending thousands of dollars. Conversely, applying energy-efficient window tint can be almost one-fifth the cost of replacing the windows.
The exact cost, obviously, will differ: every window film has a different cost point, windows vary in complexity, and you might want to apply window tints to only particular windows. Regardless, getting tinted windows in your home can be an excellent way to upgrade your property’s windows without breaking the bank.
Wrapping Up
Residential window tinting can help you attain whatever goals you have for your home, whether those include improved comfort, security, or privacy. However, that’s only the case with the right products and the right installation.
If you have any questions about residential window tinting or wish to learn which options are best for you, Metro Tint is here to help you out. Get in touch with us for more information!
