The Hindu Business Line : Let the sun in minus the heat

The only way to improve air-conditioner performance and, at the same time, not block out natural daylight, is to use transparent, heat-control films.

Special cars need special protection

S. Muralidhar

The summer months are behind us and the whole country is virtually under the monsoon spell. Yet, many of us are possibly still sweating it out behind the wheel, with our car air-conditioners unable to handle the outside heat. What’s worse, with the sky being overcast for most of the day, the amount of light coming into the car through the windows is also low, making the cabin a dull and gloomy place to be in.

The kind of dark tinted sun film for car windows that is commonly available in the market here only marginally improves the air-conditioner’s performance. And this type of coloured polyester film makes visibility in the cabin even lower during the hot and rainy season. So, what is the solution to this problem?

Window treatment

The best option for car owners who are looking for window treatment that will not only improve air-conditioner performance but will also not block out the natural daylight, is transparent, heat-control films. Even globally, there are very few manufacturers of these kind of advanced window films that supply both in the OEM and the after-markets.

V-KOOL is one of the major brands used for OE fitment by manufacturers such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Renault, Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo, Opel and Citroen.

When applied to the windows of your car, V-KOOL forms a virtually transparent, protective barrier against the sun’s heat. Independent testing shows that V-KOOL actually screens out 94 per cent of scorching infra-red radiation and 99 per cent of harmful ultraviolet light, the radiation that causes skin and eye damage. That’s the equivalent of a sunscreen lotion with an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 200.

At the same time, it continues to allow up to 70 per cent of the visible, ambient light to enter the car. The results are like sunshine without the heat. The film not only protects the car users from the sun’s heat and UV radiation that can potentially cause skin cancer, but also prevents the fading and degradation of carpets, seat upholstery and plastic dashboard panels.

By comparison, most tinted, non-reflective window treatments filter out at most 15 per cent of the sun’s infrared heat. Tinted windows also detract from the appearance of your car, as in they spoil the intended design lines and appearance of the vehicle. For example, in the Suzuki Swift, the blanked out B-pillar and transparent windows are intended to give the onlooker the perception of a floating roof. But, with dark tinted window sun-film, that attempted design perception will be lost.

These types of tinted film will also pose a safety hazard by reducing visibility, especially at night, making it feel as though you’re driving with sunglasses on. V-KOOL, on the other hand, is virtually transparent, so it doesn’t significantly affect your ability to see, and it maintains the integrity of your car’s design.

Film technology

V-KOOL’s protective film technology is based on infrared reflecting composites of silver and indium oxide, which are thinly layered (down to the thickness of a few microns) on a transparent thin film. Seven layers of specialised filtering agents are used in constituting the film and that is what gives it the superior heat rejection abilities.

This type of window coating film is called a spectrally-selective sputtered metallic film. Manufactured by Southwall Technologies of the US, V-KOOL is said to be applied only by highly trained professional installers using durable pressure-sensitive adhesive to adhere to the car window glass and it is also offered with a scratch resistant coating on the other side. The film comes with a five-year warranty that guarantees performance without fading, discoloration, cracking, peeling, adhesive failure, delaminating or demetallising.

This automotive heat control film is distributed in India by V-KOOL India Pvt Ltd and there are currently 30 outlets in the after market and at dealerships installing V-KOOL.