Can Window Film Outperform Low-E Glass?

Window films do a great job in keeping solar and radiant heat from turning your living room into a sauna. So good that it might just put low-e windows out of business. Or will it?

Window films offer a ton of cost-cutting benefits, often as alternatives or stopgaps to energy-efficient windows. High-caliber window films can reflect as much as 70 percent of solar and radiant heat and nearly all visible light coming from outside.

Return on investment (ROI) takes twice as fast for window film. Studies show that a single-pane window with window film can generate ROI of up to 68 percent yearly on warmer climates. One of the contributing factors is its cost and ease of installation. A thorough cleaning of the window pane and the film will stick to the surface like a membrane.

Homes looking to comply with energy codes can look to window films for convenient and quick retrofitting. In fact, their properties could actually make them ideal substitutes for low-E windows. The choice will all boil down to homeowners’ preference. Low-E windows, after all, let in more sunlight than film. Perhaps a combination of both films and Low-E windows would work best in some homes, depending on the room where either would be used.