Many car owners wonder if tinting the windows helps minimize interior heat. The quick answer to whether window tint reduces heat: YES! Window tinting isn’t just a way to prevent other drivers from seeing inside your car. It helps block sunlight, thereby reducing the overall temperature of the vehicle.
The fact that a thin film can help control temperature levels may seem a little shocking at first. However, there are perfectly logical scientific reasons why and how window tints can keep your interior cool when outside temperatures soar.
How Does Window Tint Keep Heat Out?
Car window tints act as a barrier between the sun and the interior of the car. The film itself is primarily comprised of polyester. Some films use a thin coating of colored dye and metal flakes that line the top layer of the film. The thin film layer helps block heat energy from the sun while allowing some light to pass through.
Window films with Nano Carbon Ceramic Technology combine ceramic and carbon particles to provide maximum coloration and a high level of heat dissipation. Despite the incredible durability of the nano-carbon ceramic film, this tint can improve visibility in a variety of outdoor light. You can tell how well a shade will work by looking at its light transmittance rating. The term VLT% refers to the amount of visible light transmitted through the hue. VLA% indicates how much light is absorbed by the tint. VLR% shows the amount of light reflected back from the surface.
To understand these terms, picture a car that does not have any tint. This type of vehicle will transmit about 90% of visible light. Therefore, its VLT% will be 90. The same untinted glass has a VLA rating of 5, which means only 5% absorption. Similarly, the VLR rating will be at five. Under these conditions, most of the light will reach the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, you can expect that there will be almost no cooling effect.
How Effectively Does Tinting Your Windows Reduce Heat?
While light transmittance ratings show how much light will be blocked, they do not indicate how much cooling can be expected. Fortunately, some research has been done to address the question “Does automatic window tint reduce heat?” In 2012, M.A. Jasni and F.M. Nasir completed an experiment for the International Conference on Mechanical, Automobile and Robotics Engineering. In this study, participants were able to demonstrate that window tinting did indeed act as a heat block.
Initially, the research seemed to show that sunshades were more effective than window tints. It was later determined that the visor only provided cooling for the dash area. The average sunshade on an unpainted vehicle only reduces the air temperature inside the car by about 2 degrees Celsius. Cars with tinted windows reduce the ambient temperature in the front and rear of the vehicle. In fact, this shade is capable of cooling indoor air by up to 8 degrees Celsius.
Jasni and Nasir’s research provides some solid scientific evidence that window tint really works. It should be noted, however, that this pair used a relatively weak tint (about 65% to 85% IR blocking) during testing. This means that higher quality shades with better IR rejection can help reduce internal temperatures even further!
Why You Should Care About Reducing Interior Heat
High temperatures in the car can lead to health problems and premature damage inside the car. As you can see, a significant portion of the vehicle’s surface area is made up of windows. Windows not only allow light to pass through, but also absorb the accompanying heat. Therefore, the internal temperature can rise over 19 degrees in 10 to 15 minutes. After a few hours, the heat can exceed the outside temperature by as much as 50 degrees.
Getting into a car that is too hot can lead to dehydration, heat stroke, and breakdown of cellular material. You may not feel the symptoms of these diseases, but they start to appear once your temperature reaches 104 degrees. Just think about the cumulative effect of this over time. There is another hidden danger related to hot interior temperatures. Most car interiors are primarily composed of plastic. Man-made materials and heat are a dangerous combination. Heated plastic releases harmful toxins into the air.
When overheated for an extended period, the plastic parts inside you can generate benzene gas. This chemical compound has long-term health effects on the human body. Benzene is carcinogenic and can cause anemia, immunodeficiency diseases, and even cancer. The good news is that you can help avoid these harmful effects by tinting your windows to minimize heat gain.
Does Window Tint Block Heat?
When wondering if window tints help with cooling, you’ll feel comfortable knowing the answer is yes. Window tints block and absorb harmful sunlight, which not only makes your vehicle uncomfortable, but also damages your health. Considering this research, it’s surprising that cars are still being produced in window tints that aren’t in stock condition. If you have such a vehicle, it’s not too late to take advantage of window tinting.
Vessolar uses the highest quality tinting materials to ensure you get the highest level of privacy, thermal protection and shading you need. And don’t forget, your ice cream will thank you too, when you keep it cool with window tints!
