A. When the weather is warm, window film can reduce air conditioning costs and save on lighting costs by reducing solar heat gain, while still letting in natural light. When it’s cold outside, window film can retain interior heat, saving on heating costs. In existing commercial structures, the energy savings achieved by window film can offer a payback in less than two years, or up to a 70% ROI — depending on factors such as construction, location, and type of film used. Window films can block up to 86% of the sun’s heat. A significant reduction of the sun’s heat aids in a building’s energy efficiency as less energy is needed from the HVAC cooling system — saving up to 30% of a building’s cooling costs.

A. In most cases if a house plant is already receiving adequate light, the use of window film will not harm it. New growth or flowering may be impacted, as the plant may take a few days to adjust to the light change. If a particular plant normally wilts by the end of a sunny day, it can actually thrive better with film installed. Although there are some obvious guidelines in determining what, if any, effect window film will have on a plant (for instance, dark green plants need less light than lighter colored ones), there is one sample test which can be done prior to film installation — simply move the plant to an area with less sunlight for a few days. In addition, most nurseries or local agriculture agencies can advise you whether a particular plant needs closer to maximum or minimal light.

A. While it’s nearly impossible to eliminate all risk of fading, window film can significantly reduce the amount of fading for interior furnishings — protecting the flooring, artwork, drapes, and furniture that experience damaging sunlight from nearby windows.

A. Absolutely. For both commerical and architectural film, the useful life of window film can depend on the film type and the glass type. For buildings, window construction, building orientation, and geographical location come into play. Most residential and automotive applications are covered by a lifetime warranty for as long as you own your house or car. Most commercial installations receive either a 10- or 15-year warranty.

A.

There are vast differences in the construction properties of automotive and architectural film. Automotive window film is designed to absorb solar energy, which means a car can actually grow warmer inside as the car sits idle. The magic of creating interior comfort happens as the window’s absorbed heat radiates as the car drives down the road.

Architectural window film, of course, is used on stationary structures. If one tried to install automotive window film architecturally, you can imagine how the solar-absorbing auto film would prove detrimental to a home or office environment. It’s for this reason that architectural flat glass is designed to reflect heat. In fact, if you were to try putting solar-energy-absorbing auto film onto flat glass, there’s a good chance heat buildup would cause the glass to break.

There are other differences. For example, automotive film is designed to be heat formed during installation, allowing the installer to shape the film as needed around the curvature of a vehicle’s windows. Architectural film uses a different adhesive than automotive film. It is formulated to give an installer more control when positioning film on large glass surfaces.

A. This depends on the film type, glass type, window construction, orientation, and geographical location of the building. 

All Madico architectural window films are covered by a warranty for some specified time. Most residential and automotive applications are covered by a lifetime warranty as long as you own the house or car. Most commercial installations receive either a 10- or 15-year warranty. There are some specialty films that have different terms; for example, exterior films are warranted for five years on vertical glass, two years on sloped glass; and decorative films usually have seven-year coverage.

The warranty coverage is based on extensive internal testing and our years of experience in the field. It is common that we see films that last well beyond their warranties, sometimes as long as 15-20 years.

A: Curtains and blinds only block solar heat and UV rays when they are closed but keeping them closed throughout the day is not always an option. Not only does window tinting remove the harsh UV light from entering your home, but it also reduces the sun's heat, glare and can reduce your energy bills.