Skylight solutions?

[AnaF]

Hi everyone! A client of mine has a series of skylights (flat, not domed) that are about 2.5ft x 5ft give or take. There several dozen in total. They find the summer sun is beating in and causing their facility to overheat, making it uncomfortable for patrons and staff alike. So they initially asked me to block these out entirely with black vinyl. That is obviously a bad idea because of the high risk of heat absorption causing the windows to crack.

I am thinking a reflective / tint film is the way to go, and my preference is that (a) it can be applied to the exterior because rooftop access on foot is a heck of a lot easier than renting a scissor lift and getting in everyone's way from the inside, and also I think it'll do a better job of bouncing the sunlight off and away rather than absorbing it through the glass, and (b) it can be installed wet.

Unfortunately, all my tried, tested & true sign supply vendors do not seem to have any suitable materials. They all deal with automotive tints rather than commercial window tints.

I did a little research and came across 3M Prestige Exterior Sun Control Window Film, which sounded absolutely perfect, but then found out that I cannot simply purchase the material - I have to get it produced and installed by authorized distributors, which is a hard no for me. I don't want a competitor hanging around my clients.

Today I thought I'd found something in Gila, but their films are only rated for interior application.

So my question is - does anyone have any experience with this? Is there a material you can recommend or advice you can give?

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[incrediblesignco]

use the ceramic tint film on the outside
I've done it and it works well
I can't ermember the brand I used though

 

[AnaF]

Thanks for the tip! I’ll be sure to include “ceramic” in my searches for tint films

 

[MarkSnelling]

You could also use 80/20 perf. It will block 80% of the heat and direct sun coming in while not completely blocking things out. I've had a few customers do that. Treck Hall has some good perf you could get...just make sure it is the 5 year stuff.

 

[AnaF]

You could also use 80/20 perf. It will block 80% of the heat and direct sun coming in while not completely blocking things out. I've had a few customers do that. Treck Hall has some good perf you could get...just make sure it is the 5 year stuff.

I hadn’t thought of perf! I work with it all the time for window graphics but somehow hadn’t considered its solar rejection properties. Thanks for the idea!

 

[mr.printer]

We've used perforated window films extensively for graphics applications, and I can see how an 80/20 perf could help reduce glare and direct sunlight without completely darkening the space. One thing I'd be curious about is whether anyone has compared the heat rejection performance of exterior ceramic architectural films versus 80/20 perf on skylights. With several dozen units involved, long-term durability and glass temperature would also be worth considering.

 

[Mr.Signboy]

We've used perforated window films extensively for graphics applications, and I can see how an 80/20 perf could help reduce glare and direct sunlight without completely darkening the space. One thing I'd be curious about is whether anyone has compared the heat rejection performance of exterior ceramic architectural films versus 80/20 perf on skylights. With several dozen units involved, long-term durability and glass temperature would also be worth considering.

I would guess that ceramic film would be way better at heat rejection than window perf, that's pretty much what it's designed for. The perf would be a simple, cheaper option that would probably also work fine. Ceramic tint is impressive stuff. I have a friend that owns a window tint shop, he has a demo that uses carbon tint on one side, and ceramic on the other. On a hot day you take it outside and feel the difference when the sun shines though from each side, almost no heat makes it through the ceramic side.

 

[unclebun]

I wonder why you wouldn't just use white vinyl. They don't need to see out of a skylight. White reflects. It will transmit some light. If you didn't want that you could use one with gray adhesive.

 

[AnaF]

I wonder why you wouldn't just use white vinyl. They don't need to see out of a skylight. White reflects. It will transmit some light. If you didn't want that you could use one with gray adhesive.

Yeah I suppose you're on to something, but I'd have to look into which white vinyls (with or without blockout properties), if any, explicitly state they are manufactured to provide solar rejection. Same goes for the perf previously recommended - sure, it can block heat & sun, but that's sort of more of a "by the way" rather than its fundamental purpose. It's an awful lot of windows to cover up with a material that only maybe helps solve their problem, or to find out the hard way it didn't make enough of a difference

 

[BigNate]

Guaranteed the white vinyl provides "solar rejection" (blocks out sunlight?!) you can prove this by holding up a piece of the vinyl between you and the sun - can you feel the radiant heat of the sun in the shadow of the vinyl? can you clearly see the sun through the vinyl? if no to either of these, then there is "solar rejection" happening... and a lot. especially when placed on the outside, you will notice a reduction in heat from the skylights. we have some here who take plain white vinyl and wrap just the top of their cars - very hot in the valley sun. You can reduce the heat in the car with white vinyl - same will hold true for non-vehicle applications. (You may get slightly better from some of the ceramic coatings, but you can spend a lot more too....)

something to keep in mind - a good white surface can often reflect more background radiation than even a polisher mirrored surface can... being able to see an image just means the light is reflected consistently, the white is still reflected, just in random directions on the micro-scale - but white surface often reflects more than actual "mirrored surfaces" do....