3M Night Vision vs. 3M Prestige

So you’re looking to add some solar control window film to your windows, and aren’t quite sure about which direction you want to go. You’ve edited your choices to interior Night Vision and Prestige, now it’s time to decide which one, and with 6 options that can be difficult. So in order to make this easier lets decide whether we’re going with Night Vision or Prestige, then we can limit our choices to 3 options and make a film decision from there.

When deciding whether or not you want to go with Night Vision or Prestige you have to determine exactly what your needs are. If your needs include glare, then you’ll be able to eliminate Prestige pretty quickly, as 3M Prestige Window Film will not help much with glare issues. If you are not willing to darken your windows and don’t want a reflective film than it’ll be easy to eliminate Night Vision.

3M Night Vision 15

When Night Vision is a better option than Prestige:

1. Glare Issues

2. Budget Conscious

3. Best Heat Control Possible

When 3M Interior Prestige is a better option than Night Vision:

3M Prestige 50

1. Wood Frames or French Paned Windows

2. Want to allow as much light as possible

3. Do not want to change the aesthetic of your home or office

Once you’re able to determine what the main issues your are experiencing with your windows are, you can decide which direction to go quite quickly. In my opinion, if you’re looking to reduce glare, and heat, the best interior film option will be Night Vision 15. Along with a 43% heat reduction, this film comes with a great price point. In my opinion 3M Night Vision 15 offers the most bang for your buck.

If you have Wood Frames, French Panes, or incredible views, my expert suggestion would be 3M Interior Prestige 50. This film provides a 25% heat reduction, and in my opinion makes your views even better by adding just a tinge of shade which enhances the outdoor colors and views. It’s my personal favorite.

There are so many film options which can make deciding difficult, but with all the options it allows customers to customize a film choice specific to their needs. I hope this BLOG will make it easier to decide which interior film product will work best for you.

We just went over our interior products here, but also have amazing exterior products for those looking to reduce as much heat as possible. Check out our Exterior Window Film Blog post to learn more about our exterior film options.

If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to us at 303-862-6376 or info@coloradosolarvision.com.

By, Shelley Meador

New Windows $$$$ vs. Window Film $

Home in Reunion neighborhood of Commerce City, with 3M Night Vision 25 applied to all of the homes windows. 99% UV rejection, Solar Heat Reduction of 29% solar heat reduction, and 72% glare reduction.

At a certain point in your homes lifespan you might need new windows. When or how that happens is a different story dependent on the quality of windows your home got in the first place, and regardless of that, the need for a complete window replacement is something that will take no less than 15 years to become an issue even worth looking into, and why is this, well for one it’s incredibly expensive! And the other reason is because you can have window film installed for a fraction of the cost.

I know this because I need new windows. I know….the horror! How could a window film dealer throw in the towel and buy new windows. Well here’s the story, our house is about 20 years old, and our windows are busted up! The glass itself performs well, because well, we have window film, but outside that our frames are a mess, and it’s hard to even open and shut or lock our windows.

When Heath (my husband) and I moved into our home about 8 years ago, the seals on the entire west side of our house were blown, the glass sliding doors were super scratched from the previous Owners dogs, and now we’re noticing Low-E failure on a few of the windows. We’ve been avoiding fixing the issue for years because of the cost, but after 8 years we’ve decided to finally throw in the towel and purchase new windows.

When our Salesman came to the appointment he broke out his BTU meter (a device that measures heat), and heat lamp to show us how well his glass performed over ours, but sadly to his dismay, our glass performed better because we had Night Vision 15 applied to it. He was not expecting this, and really didn’t know which direction to go with his sales pitch. I reminded him that our windows have film and perform incredibly well, but what we needed was a clean slate. I told him I also didn’t need to see a heat lamp, what I needed to see were numbers like the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient of the glass, the U-Value, Light Transparency, and UV reduction. Unfortunately he didn’t have this on him, but I was able to google it and pull that info. Apparently many people don’t ask for the specifications, all he has to do is a heat lamp presentation vs. their standard glass. His presentation is probably pretty impressive most of the time, because standard builder glass that many Home Owners have, does not perform well, and lets in tons of heat and all the UV.

So why am I telling this story while trying to sell film. Well, because not everyone has the busted up window issues that we are dealing with. If your window frames, and seals are in good shape, but your actual glass underperforms, you’d be spending way too much money to have new windows installed when you can simply upgrade them with a solar control window film. If a customer called with my exact house asking to have the west side filmed, our approximate estimate would be around $3500.00 vs. new windows which are $15,000.00!!! That’s a 1/4 of the cost. It’s a no brainer really.

Half of the west side of my house located in the Reunion neighborhood of Commerce City. Currently has 3M Night Vision 15 applied, which rejects 99% of the UV, reduces solar heat up to 43%, and an 81% glare reduction. I’ll update post when my new windows are installed.

If your windows are really old, or single paned, or have terrible frames, our films can’t fix that. But if you are only dealing with performance issues, window film will actually perform better than most high performing glass, at a much lower cost. I know when my new windows go in, they’ll still be getting some film. The new glass only blocks about 50%, of UV, and I want 99% UV reduction. I also want to further reduce the amount of solar heat coming into my home past the abilities of the new glass, and of course with west facing windows, I’ll need some glare control. In general most windows, even new high performing ones can further benefit from the application of a solar control film. Believe me, we’ve applied film to beautiful brand new glass for many Home Owners as well, where the glass alone just wasn’t cutting it, especially when it came to UV rejection, and fading of floors and furnishings.

If you are looking to upgrade your windows, call us at 303-862-6376 or email info@coloradosolarvision.com . - Shelley Meador

Looking at Window Film Data

Have you ever been asked to look at data you aren’t familiar with, and to decipher it yourself? If not, you probably will soon if you’re shopping for window film. We in the Window Film Industry have a tendency to hand over product cards with tons of data, but not much insight on what it all means.

When shopping for window film, you’ll be handed a window film card, generally with an enclosed sample, and all the pertinent info about that product on it. But what does it mean to you, and what data or numbers should you be most concerned with? Well that all depends on what you’re buying solar control film for. Is it fading, one-way visibility, or just plain heat. This data can help you figure out which film product will work best for your needs.

The technical data above is for 3M’s Interior Prestige Window Film Products, and since most of us are looking to add film to double paned clear glass, we’re going to use those numbers in our examples below.

The First Number you’ll notice on Prestige or any window film card for that matter is a number following the name of the product. This number roughly represents the amount of visible light transmitted, and this is generally true for most window film manufacturer’s products.

Product Name = Visible Light Transmitted (The higher the VLT, the lighter the film). If you want to add a film that will not change the look of your glass, you’ll want to choose a window film with a high VLT, and probably not anything with a VLT under 45%.

• Prestige 70: 62% VLT

• Prestige 50: 45% VLT

Now that we know why a film is called Prestige 70 or Night Vision 15, we can easily decipher which film products will change the appearance of our glass. If you don’t want to darken your glass, this will limit you to films with a VLT of 45% or higher. If you don’t mind darkening your windows, you’ll have an even wider variety of options.

Once you’ve settled on how dark or light you want your window film, you’ll be able to utilize the technical data to find the perfect window film for you. Below are explanations of what all the acronyms and data mean.

Visible Light Reflected Interior: This is the amount of reflection the application of window film will add to the interior side of your glass.

Many window films will have a high interior reflection, some can even cause a mirror effect, especially at night. If you want to see out of your windows at night, you should probably stay away from window films like 3M Silver P18 series with high interior reflectivity, and opt for products with low interior reflectivity like 3M Night Vision series.

Visible Light Reflected Exterior is the amount of reflection the application of window film will add on the exterior side of your glass.

The higher this number the more reflective your glass will be. This is an important number to look at if you are wanting to add film for daytime privacy. Prestige 70 would not provide this for you, you’d need to look at a film with a VLR Exterior of at least 20%, like one of 3M’s Night Vision products.

• Prestige 70 VLR Interior: 13%

• Prestige 70 VLR Exterior: 15%

• Night Vision 15 VLR Interior: 11%

• Night Vision 15 VLR Exterior: 39%

SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient): The lower the number means the better the heat reduction performance.

• Prestige 70 on Double Paned Glass: 0.56

• Prestige 50 on Double Paned Glass: 0.53 (Prestige 50 blocks more heat than Prestige 70)

Solar Heat Reduction: This is the estimated reduction in heat transfer with the application of window film. The higher the number, the less heat transferred through your glass.

• Prestige 70: 21% heat reduction when added to basic clear double paned glass.

• Prestige 50: 25% heat reduction when added to basic clear double paned glass.

UV, Ultra Violet Light Rejected: All Window Films will reject 99.9% of the UV Light. This is because the UV inhibitors are the in the adhesive. UV is the main cause of fading.

Glare Reduction: The percentage of glare reduced with the application of a particular window film product. The higher this number, the better the film works at reducing glare. If you are looking to reduce glare in your home or office, you’ll probably need to look at a window film with a glare reduction value of at least 50%, like one of 3M’s Night Vision products to have any real benefit.

• Prestige 70: 22% Glare Reduction

• Prestige 50: 44%

• Night Vision 35: 60%

• Night Vision 15: 82%

While this doesn’t touch on every piece of data, and we’re only looking at a few different film types, you may still have questions. If so, give us a call @ 303-862-6376 or email us at info@coloradosolarvision.com. We’re here to answer your questions Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.

All info provided in this BLOG is for educational purposes only, and does guarantee specific performance of glass after window film application. Numbers and estimated performance are based off provided 3M Technical data, tested using the application of 3M Solar Control Window Film on Double Paned Clear glass with an estimated SHGC of .70 prior to installation of noted window films.

Privacy Window Film, "I want to see out", but don't want anyone to see in".

This is a concern of many window film shoppers. How do you achieve privacy with the addition of window film? Well, there are a couple of ways, but none of them include 24 hour privacy. A reflective film like Night Vision 15, can give you daytime privacy, but it just isn’t possible for it to provide privacy at night, and none of our solar films will. The reason for this is lighting. Whichever side of the glass has the most light, will be the side that is most visible.

I loved Police Academy and Naked Gun movies growing up. I have very sophisticated taste in cinema. Anyhow, there is a scene in I believe Police Academy 1, 2, 3, 4 or whatever that comes to me when I think of explaining privacy film to a customer. They’re conducting a Police Lineup with several different men. The Witness who is about to identify the suspect is visibly nervous, and is assured no one can seem him, because it’s dark where they are and light where the suspect is. Right as the Witness points at the Suspect, because this is Police Academy, someone of course pops in and turns on the light. The Suspect sees the Witness, and of course starts yelling “I’m gonna kill you” or something along those lines.

It’s a great example of how lighting works with regards to privacy, and how window film helps that. 3M does have some terrific one way films. These are the films you might see on the glass in a police interrogation room, however without specific lighting controls, they are not able to provide absolute one way visibility either.

Now lets get back to something less dramatic and talk about how we can use window film to make our home more private. There are two options. You can go with a solar window film like Night Vision 15, this will provide great daytime privacy. There is just one caveat. It will not provide privacy at night. You’ll need to draw the curtains after sunset.

Night Vision 15, Interior View

If you’re looking at adding a film for daytime privacy, the most important number you’ll want to see on a window film data sheet is the amount of exterior light reflected. The higher this number the better. Our most reflective residential film is 3M Night Vision 15. There are more reflective ones, but your HOA might not be happy with those choices.

Night Vision 15 is a great product for anyone trying to achieve daytime privacy, as it’s reflective but also attractive. It is approximately 39% reflective on clear double pane glass, and generally HOA approved. There are more reflective films, but they’re typically silver, or bronze. Something you’d see on a 1980’s skyscraper, but not something you’d want to see on your home.

A Decorative Film can add great privacy for your home or office.

3M DECORATIVE FILM OPTIONS

Another great option for full time privacy is a frosted film. These are a great choice because they’ll add privacy to your glass without blocking the light, and there are tons of options when it comes to a decorative or frosted film. The caveat here is that you cannot see out.

While we still don’t have the perfect option for one way film yet, we do have some great options that’ll add privacy to your home, while providing many other benefits from glass efficiency to better aesthetics.