Spectral Select vs Ceramic

[vquestfilms.com]

On 11/4/2017 at 2:46 AM, PenguinTint said:

Thanks everyone for their reply!

 

We had our final consultation which was a HO dealer which showed us Ceramic, Drei, and Fusion.

 

I do agree that overall comparing with all the other film samples we have HO has some really nice optics. At first I thought my wife (boss) wanted clear view and visibility as the top priority thus was focusing on ceramic and spectral select but after she saw the Fusion, she likes the idea of privacy and now wants me to look at DR films (argh!!!).

 

Drei is an option but it's really expensive, C40 is already a premium and Drei on top of that just pushes it way out of budget. If I had an ocean view or canyon hills view maybe but this is just looking out in a backyard garden plus my wife/boss is now changing her mind where she wants more privacy (pulling my hair out at this point and might just get some roller shades).

 

The other snag I ran into is that we can't go down to C30 as we're double-pane low-e glass. This was the only rep that inspected our glass etching, looked up the compatibility guide and said for ceramic we can only go to C40. So was super impress with that as no other installer mentioned this or checked. I had another installer that said C30 would be fine. I pointed out the guide I found online and they said they talked to their rep (who said no problem) and would get it in writing, but never heard back from them -- shrug.

 

So the rep showed us the Fusion 10 which is also a nice film (plus cheaper to boot), my concern is that it's too dark and from reading other threads it seems better suited for businesses. I see for residential more people recommending 20 or 30 instead. I guess I can do the "sunglasses" test but will need to get more samples, my installers are going get super annoyed with me :).

 

So now I shifted to focusing on these three DR films now:

- HO Fusion 10/20/30

- Panorama Slate 10/20/30

- Vista Ultima V14, Celeste V18, Luminance V28

 

So my questions are:

1) For privacy (outside looking in) what min level of ext. reflectance should I aim for? 30%+, 35%+, 40%+? I imagine that the exterior reflectance becomes a bigger factor where I actually need a high enough ext. reflectance so people can't see in and I have privacy. Is there any rule of thumb for what to look for? I have a sample of DRDS-35 which has a ext reflectance of 18% on the spec sheet which I tested and does not provide enough daytime privacy my wife/boss wants. I have a Fusion 10 sample which boosts an ext reflectance of 51% which does provides lots of privacy but pretty mirror like from the outside. What's the happy ground? 

2) I live within a HOA community so is there an ext. reflectance to keep below to stay below HOA complaints? Again this is more real-world experience. I read my CC&R but didn't see anything specific so reached out to our HOA rep for exact clarification. I do know my neighbors have done medium level tints w/o issue. 

2) What VLT is most commonly recommended for residential daytime privacy? I understand this is highly subjective and likely a need some mocks and samples to really tell. But wondering if there's a rule of thumb. 

4) Among those brands any comments? I understand that HO is superior for optics especially in the the ceramic film but as I shift more to DR for privacy does it still translate? Also understand that both Vista and Huper are both owned by Eastman Chemical but Huper Optik seems to be a higher class to Vista and the Panorama is SolarGard's equivalent.

 

Again thanks so much, this has been a wealth of information!

 

From your description of your glass this job sounds familiar... If you are working with Sun Tamers, your Film 2 glass exception verbal request was taken and approved by me verbally. I asked the Dealer to submit the request in writing so that you the consumer can have an approval in writing. I believe that is where the proverbial ball has been dropped because the Dealer has yet to return the form to me. Please contact them if you want C30, you will have full Standard MFG warranty or the No-Risk upgrade if you wish to purchase it. 

 

Other low reflective options are Huper Ceramic 35... It performs better than C40 and almost as well as C30. The C35 is less reflective than most 35% vlt dual reflectives. 

 

Dual reflective films are solid options but you but you have to mount a decent size sample to the glass next to the lower reflective products and ask yourself the critical questions; “Which Film looks the best on my home?” and “Whic Film meets my visual expectations?” I’m with Tom... I wouldn’t go much lower than 35% on a DR film for a residence. HOA approval is going to be a must if they have CC&R’s regarding reflective films. My experience in CA is that most associations approve 15% VLR to the exterior or lower. Anything higher meets with push back from the design review committees. 

Edited November 5, 2017 by vquestfilms.com

[PenguinTint]

10 hours ago, vquestfilms.com said:

 

From your description of your glass this job sounds familiar... If you are working with Sun Tamers, your Film 2 glass exception verbal request was taken and approved by me verbally. I asked the Dealer to submit the request in writing so that you the consumer can have an approval in writing. I believe that is where the proverbial ball has been dropped because the Dealer has yet to return the form to me. Please contact them if you want C30, you will have full Standard MFG warranty or the No-Risk upgrade if you wish to purchase it. 

 

Other low reflective options are Huper Ceramic 35... It performs better than C40 and almost as well as C30. The C35 is less reflective than most 35% vlt dual reflectives. 

 

Dual reflective films are solid options but you but you have to mount a decent size sample to the glass next to the lower reflective products and ask yourself the critical questions; “Which Film looks the best on my home?” and “Whic Film meets my visual expectations?” I’m with Tom... I wouldn’t go much lower than 35% on a DR film for a residence. HOA approval is going to be a must if they have CC&R’s regarding reflective films. My experience in CA is that most associations approve 15% VLR to the exterior or lower. Anything higher meets with push back from the design review committees. 

 

How funny! Yes, they are one of the installers I'm talking with, among the others that you also recommended. Good to know that C30 is an option if I want to go that route.

 

Yeah confirming with my HOA on specific rules, the rules can be tricky. These windows face the back so think it should be less of an issue.

 

For DR, would F28 work to give decent daytime privacy while not being too dark? That might be a happy compromise. Also thinking about Slate 30. 

 

Thanks!

[vquestfilms.com]

 
How funny! Yes, they are one of the installers I'm talking with, among the others that you also recommended. Good to know that C30 is an option if I want to go that route.
 
Yeah confirming with my HOA on specific rules, the rules can be tricky. These windows face the back so think it should be less of an issue.
 
For DR, would F28 work to give decent daytime privacy while not being too dark? That might be a happy compromise. Also thinking about Slate 30. 
 
Thanks!

Yeah, the whole thing started sounding very familiar once you mentioned your glass type and situation. You have some good companies involved so next thing to do is get your HOA to sign off on your choice so you don’t run into issues with them.

If it is in the back of the house then Fusion 28 could be an option. It is somewhat reflective for daytime privacy but less reflective to the exterior than Slate 30.