3M Window Film


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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 manmade 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 Film, first patented in 1966, addresses these inefficiencies and vulnerabilities.

3M Window Film Reduces Glare, Fading & Utility Bills


First, 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 manmade 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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3M Window Film Helps Protect People & Property


Second, 3M Safety & Security Window Film helps to hold broken glass in place. Glass breaks easily, and when it does, is dangerous to those nearby. That is why, as children, we are taught not to touch broken glass. 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 Film with 3M’s Impact Protection Adhesive helps to hold broken glass together and in the window’s frame, thereby helping to protect people, property, and continuity of operations.

Increase Efficiencies, Reduce Vulnerabilities


Inefficiencies

  • Reduce heat transfer
  • Reduce solar heat gain
  • Reduce manmade 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
  • Bomb Blast
  • Windstorm
  • School safety
  • Breaking & Entering
  • Spontaneous Glass Breakage
  • Safety Glazing / Human Impact
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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 Film 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