3M Window Films

Increase Efficiency & Reduce Vulnerabilities With 3M Window Film

Windows are an architectural necessity for any home or office, as people require daylight for multiple reasons. We want to know and see what is outside, whether the view is of the Rocky Mountains or a crowded street in New York City. Daylight has numerous health benefits, too, including increased productivity and mental stimulation. But the windows that afford us sunlight also come with drawbacks. They are typically the most inefficient part of the building envelope, allowing in the sun’s heat in the summer and permitting the escape of man-made heat to the outside in the winter. They are also typically the most vulnerable part of the building envelope, as glass is easier to break than other building materials such as concrete, brick, wood, or stone.

3M Window Films, first patented in 1966, address these inefficiencies and vulnerabilities.

Reduce Glare, Fading & Utility Bills

3M Insulating / Sun Control Window Film reduces the rate of heat transfer that occurs through glass. It lowers a window’s Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC), which increases the amount of the sun’s incident energy (ultraviolet, visible light, infrared) that is reflected and absorbed by the window, thereby reducing what is transmitted inside. It also reduces a window’s U-Value which increases the amount of man-made heat that is reflected back inside, thereby reducing what is lost outside. This enhanced solar control ultimately translates into lower utility bills, increased personal comfort, reduced glare, and reduced fading.

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Help Protect People & Property

3M Safety & Security Window Films help to hold broken glass in place. Glass breaks easily, and when it does, is dangerous to those nearby. Glass can break from any number of traumas, such as impact with a blunt object, bomb blast, windstorm, or earthquake. It can even break spontaneously due to the instability of the metals used in modern day tempered glass. When glass does break, those shards are dangerous to anyone nearby, especially if they are projected at high velocities. 3M Safety & Security Window Films with 3M's Impact Protection Adhesive help to hold broken glass together and in the window's frame, thereby helping to protect people, property, and continuity of operations.

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Increase Efficiencies & Reduce Vulnerabilities

Inefficiencies

Reduce heat transfer
Reduce solar heat gain
Reduce man-made heat loss
Reduce utility bills
Reduce solar heat gain coefficient
Reduce U-Value
Reduce furniture fade
Reduce glare

Vulnerabilities

Help protect people
Help protect property
Help maintain continuity of operations
Mitigate bomb blasts
Reduce windstorm damage
Improve school safety (hardening)
Slow down breaking & entering
Protect from spontaneous glass breakage
Meet safety glazing regulations

Foster Natural Light, Privacy & Design Appeal

While we value the clear nature of glass, which makes it function as we want it to, there are drawbacks to the lack of privacy it provides, especially in private offices, conference rooms, and bathrooms with windows. 3M Glass Finishes Window Films can overcome any limitations of clear glass by helping to create privacy, disperse light, and improve aesthetics by adding dimension, color, texture, and pattern.

Disperse light
Create privacy
Distraction Markers
Branding / Logos / Messaging

Learn More About 3M Decorative Glass Finishes