Noob Needs Advice on Home Film

[LAPK78]

HI All.  Really interesting site y'all have here.  

 

I'm in San Antonio, TX and the backyard of our 2-story house faces west and in the afternoons our A/C has a hard time keeping up with the 100+ degrees scorching the earth.  We don't want to drastically reduce the amount of light entering the house, just the heat.  So, I've been calling around for estimates to install film on our west-facing windows, about 196 square feet of double pane, "normal-shaped" windows.  I'm finding that the prices vary quite a bit for the same products (but I guess that's probably not too weird- most say they'd match/beat other's prices for identical products).

 

Keeping in mind that our primary goal is heat-reduction without reducing much incoming light, I'd like some opinions (preferably based on personal experience) on these lines of film.  These are the options I've found so far:

 

Llumar Vista

Llumar Air-80

SunTek

3M Prestige 70%

Matico

SolarGuard

Enerlogic 35 or 70 (would likely be 70)

 

From my limited readings (mostly threads here on TintDude), I understand that breakage is more likely to occur with the higher Solar Absorption rates, but I'm unclear if it's a problem in my region.  Also, I'm only filming my west windows, and I believe breakage seems to happen more on east-facing windows (I assume due to more rapid temperature change/expansion going from night into direct morning sunlight?).  Please correct me if I am mistaken.

 

I didn't plan on clearing this with my HOA as I had hoped the desired film won't be very dark or noticeable.  However, it seems that if I want to block as much heat as possible while allowing maximum light into the house, I may want a more reflective film, which might be more obvious.  Am I correct in this?

 

Do any of the above films I've listed raise a red flag to anyone here?  Are there any that are considerably better or more suited for what I'm wanting to accomplish?

 

Thanks for your input!  I appreciate your cumulative experience and your time!  --Lyle

[DOOTINT]

I am not going to say what film brand to choose but here is a pic of no film and a DR15(after tinting 15min later)that most have and not much diff/southwest

When the sun shines even 5% doesn't seem to dark,,gloomy days will make the room darker tho

You really don't lose that much light compared to having shades pulled and they don't block the heat very well,,but its nice to have both together

If your selling something behind the windows then lighter films would be the choice

[DynamicATL]

The most important part is to find the proper installer to do the work and 2nd the film they offer.  Out of those films I would choose between Vista, AIR, Prestige, or Enerlogic.

[DOOTINT]

The light films are a waste of $$ compared to a DR15 for comfort and heat rejection but have to give the customer what they want

If the home owners assc said no good tint?? I would burn the house down and move,lol

[LAPK78]

The most important part is to find the proper installer to do the work and 2nd the film they offer. Out of those films I would choose between Vista, AIR, Prestige, or Enerlogic.

[Tintguy1980]

   I can tell you Enerlogic is best for climates above the Mason-Dixon line. You're in TX so save your $'s and work with standard solar control such as Vista VS70, 3M Prestige 70, or LLumar AIR 80.

 

I have Enerlogic 70 on my North facing windows here in VA only for the heat retention capabilities for winter months.

 

 

Thermal shock to glass occurs when there is a temperature difference between center glass and glass edge inside the frame, greater than 50 degrees for annealed glass and 200 degrees for tempered. I believe Air 80 would be borderline safe on dual-pane annealed glass.

[LAPK78]

As far as finding a proper installer, I've only called places that do residential. Aside from that, what else can I do?

Also, was I correct in my assessment that I should go with a more reflective as opposed to absorbing tint?

[DynamicATL]

To add about the HOA, we were in the same boat with our new home.  Our HOA is a PITA to get hold of, so we tinted it anyway with Llumar DR 25 and have not had an issue yet.

[jh812]

Don't let the 25 35 range scare you off. This are great films that will reduce some glare with great heat reduction. I only ever get complaints about those who went to light. Anything above 50 will have zero detection imo.

[Grizzlies87]

Hi Lyle my name is Nick and I'm an authorized Huper Optik dealer for the Austin / San Antonio area. My company is fully insured and I have many references throughout central Texas. Huper Optik offers beautiful non reflective films that reject a significant amount of heat without radically changing the look of your windows on the exterior. I would love to show you these films and answer any and all questions. 512-672-9188