why don't you compare this to crystaline instead of porsche's sad excuse of a thermal glass?

 

Actually, if you scroll up to our post #31, we have 3M Crystalline 40 tested on there already. Their product is known to put up higher numbers at 97% IR, but only for near infrared. If you take a look at our photos above:

Crystalline 40
900-1000nm 97% IR Rejection
780-1700nm 85% IR Rejection

**as you can see the performance drops significantly when you are looking at the higher IR range, which is where it really matters.
**Many manufacturers post up performance #s that are deceiving, and this confirms it with 3M CR.

 

As a professional paint protection film and window tint installer since 1997, we do not take the manufacturers' words. We test both performance, durability, and clarity of products we offer to all of our clients. In our opinion, 3M Crystalline's performance #s are putting up their best numbers, but where it really matters is in the 1400-1700nm for IR.

Here is also a scratch resistant test for 3M (video made by another installer)

 

From our testing, both Spectra PhotoSync and CeraLuxe Quantum Ceramic are high end products that perform very well in heat rejection at higher VLT (visible light transmission). This means, you no longer have to go dark to block out a significant amount of heat like regular tint.

 

It also says something that 3m is the only tint that is backed by the cancer assocation for protecting against skin cancer.

You don't get that by putting BS numbers.

 

Would like to note that skin cancer is caused by exposure to UV rays (ultraviolet). All top end window films on the market block out 98%-99% of UV.

In the test above, we are not measuring UV. We are specifically measuring IR (infrared), which accounts for 52 - 53% of solar radiation. UV only accounts for 3% of the solar spectrum with the remaining 44% going to visible light.

The test above is to measure heat rejection, not UV as all quality window films block out 98%-99%. On heat rejection is where 3M Crystalline's numbers become misleading. **The meter we utilized for this test is made by EDTM, which is one of the top solar spectrum analyzing tool available. It also uses NFRC 300 rating system to provide these numbers, so it is very accurate.

In the meter above, you can see that in the higher nanometer range, 3M's heat rejection (once again, we are measuring product performance by IR rejection not UV) drops off when we are looking at far IR nm specs. Whereas Spectra PhotoSync and CeraLuxe are fairly consistent in performance and both outperform 3M on heat rejection.

 

Quite interesting. How do these films block the IR spectrum? Or how do they work? Is there any change to thermal performance if they are mounted to the glass? Does the glass get hotter with the film installed relative to normal glass without the film?

 

Hi Dave, here is a good read to better understand the solar spectrum:

http://www.iwfa.com/professional/Pro...Radiation.aspx

The older technology products (better known as "tint") typically have to go very dark (e.g. "limo") to obtain any heat rejecting use (we are strictly speaking about heat rejection and not UV). Newer technology products such as Spectra PhotoSync and CeraLuxe offers higher heat rejection without compromising visibility. In essence, you can stay much lighter with these nano window films compared to traditional / conventional tints.

On IRR (infrared radiation) rejection, the technical properties of these high end films will reduce the amount of infrared transmission through glass. Some products on the market use ceramics (will not affect wireless signals) while others use some form of metallics (which will affect e-signals). They are all trying to achieve one thing - reduce heat transmission through the glass by both reflecting / absorbing some of the rays. Naturally, the glass will get warmer, but the amount of heat radiating through the windows are significantly reduced depending on the product you have applied to the glass. Some window films will perform better than others.

Infrared Radiation - by cutting this down, the amount of heat radiating through the glass is reduced. (Window film's IRR can range from the low 20s - high 90s. The higher this number, the better the heat reduction. However, this is only partially true because IR's range from 780-2500nm, which is why you would see such a performance difference in 3M's Crystalline performing better in the lower IR range). This is why it is somewhat misleading for them speaking of 97% IRR, but in reality they are only measuring the lower 780-1000 range. In the measurements above with the Spectrum Analyzer, we are seeing a 13% reduction in IR rejection when we look at the higher range up to 1700nm. This is where PhotoSync and CeraLuxe outshines the competition and why we chose to carry them for our clients.

UV - ultraviolet radiation - 98%-99% UV rejection for window film is pretty standard for quality products. This will reduce interior leather or panel fading.....UV is also a known culprit of skin cancer, which is why window film is important.

VIS - visible light - This is where you would choose the % shade for the window film / tint to be applied. The higher the %, the lighter the film is. For example, factory glass is typically rated at 75% - 80% VLT.

Hope this helps!