People who live in warm climates know very well the benefit of window tinting to keep the car cool in the heat of the summertime. Tinting does just as good a job in colder climates, except in the winter you want that warm energy to keep the car warm. The law limits the amount of tinting on car windows, to roughly 35% on the rear and second-row windows and none on the windshield and front-row windows. Every state has different maximum tinting laws.
At home, you can tint the windows as much as you like to block UV rays. However, again, you want the sunlight to enter the house in the winter for some passive heating. Daylighting is always a plus in any space, and you sure don’t want to tint out the view.
3M has several new CLEAR window films that block 75% of the UV light. Now you can have full “tinting” on the windshield and front-row seats in the car, and also on any window in your house – and still get the full benefits of daylighting and view. Note: plants don’t need the ultra-violet spectrum to grow, and delicate plants may actually do better.
3M has a lot of interesting information on their website. Many other manufacturers have clear UV-blocking window films. Some of the films strengthen the glass, rendering it safer and “shatter resistant.” Other films stay in place by virtue of static electricity (no glue). Theoretically, you can put the static-cling films on the windows in the summer and remove them in the winter.
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Excerpted from Going Green, available as an eBook at this list of eBook retailers online.