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A living room in the late afternoon, full height glazing along one wall, the low sun across the floor and the skyline clear through the glass

Cooler rooms.

Take the heat out of the glass, not out of the view.

Can window film make a hot room more comfortable?

In most rooms, yes. Solar control film treats the sunlight at the glass, so less of it becomes heat inside. How much difference you feel depends on the film, the glass, which way the room faces and the day.

Solar film

Sunlight arriving at a window carries energy. A clear pane passes most of it straight through, where it becomes heat you then have to remove. Solar film reflects part of that energy back out and absorbs part of it at the glass, so less of it ever gets into the room.

  • Nothing is replaced and nothing structural changes.
  • The outward view is kept.
  • Solar film reduces the heat passing through the glass.
  • Solar energy is treated at the glass, before it becomes heat in the room.
  • What a film achieves depends on the film, the glass, the orientation and the conditions on the day.
  • Film reduces the load on a cooling system. It does not replace one.
The same living room without film: harsh afternoon glare across the glazing and the room beyond it washed out
Without film
The same living room with film: the glare gone, the skyline clear through the glass and the room comfortable
With film
What changes

What you notice.

Film goes on the inside face of the glass you already have. Nothing is replaced and nothing structural changes.

  • The afternoon room stops running hotter than the rest of the building
  • The cooling has less to fight through the peak of the day
  • The seats beside the glass become somewhere you would choose to sit
  • The daylight and the view stay as they were
Real-world applications

At home and at work.

  • A living room looking out through full height glazing to a sunlit garden, the room evenly lit rather than glaringResidential
    West-facing living rooms and north-facing glazing, where the afternoon makes the room unusable.
  • A close raking view of one glazing bay on a commercial building, the neighbouring facade reflected in the glassCommercial
    Curtain wall and shopfront glazing, treated in place without touching the building fabric.
Where it goes

Typical glazing.

  • West and north facing living rooms
  • Bedrooms under an exposed roofline
  • Kitchens and dining rooms with large glazing
  • Open plan floors with western exposure
  • Stairwell and skylight glass
  • Apartments where the glazing cannot be changed
Things to know

What it will not do.

It is not air conditioning

Film reduces the heat coming in through the glass. It does not remove heat already in the room, and a west facing room in a heatwave will still be the warmest room you have.

The existing glass sets the ceiling

What is achievable depends on what is already there. A single clear pane has more to gain than a modern performance unit that is doing some of this work already.

Not every pane suits every film

Sealed units, heavily shaded glass and some toughened panes each need care. We confirm what is appropriate for your glass before we quote it.

Worth knowing.

Will it make the room dark?+
Not necessarily. Films range from nearly clear to heavily tinted, and the right one depends on the room, the aspect and how much you want the look to change. Your quotation sets out what is being specified.
Will I still see out?+
Yes. Solar film treats heat, glare and ultraviolet light and leaves the outward view intact.
Will my windows look mirrored from outside?+
Only if you choose a film that does. Reflectivity is a specification choice and it runs from near invisible to distinctly mirrored, so the appearance from the street is something you decide rather than something film imposes. Tell us how you want the building to read and we will specify to that.
Can film go on any window?+
Most glass suits film, and some types and situations need care. We confirm what is appropriate for your glass before quoting it.
Can film go on double glazing?+
Sometimes, and it is not a question to answer from a website. Sealed units, laminated panes, toughened glass and heavily shaded glazing each behave differently under film, and the wrong specification on the wrong pane is a real risk rather than a theoretical one. We confirm what is appropriate for your glass before we quote it, and what we are specifying is written into the quotation.
Also on this glass

Related problems.

Tell us about
the glass.

We confirm what suits your windows, then put a written quotation in front of you with the price, what it covers and how long it stands.

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Two hands applying window film to a large glass pane with a squeegee, the wet film being smoothed flat in natural daylight