3M Night Vision vs. 3M Prestige

So you’re looking to add some solar control window film to your windows, and aren’t quite sure about which direction you want to go. You’ve edited your choices to interior Night Vision and Prestige, now it’s time to decide which one, and with 6 options that can be difficult. So in order to make this easier lets decide whether we’re going with Night Vision or Prestige, then we can limit our choices to 3 options and make a film decision from there.

When deciding whether or not you want to go with Night Vision or Prestige you have to determine exactly what your needs are. If your needs include glare, then you’ll be able to eliminate Prestige pretty quickly, as 3M Prestige Window Film will not help much with glare issues. If you are not willing to darken your windows and don’t want a reflective film than it’ll be easy to eliminate Night Vision.

3M Night Vision 15

When Night Vision is a better option than Prestige:

1. Glare Issues

2. Budget Conscious

3. Best Heat Control Possible

When 3M Interior Prestige is a better option than Night Vision:

3M Prestige 50

1. Wood Frames or French Paned Windows

2. Want to allow as much light as possible

3. Do not want to change the aesthetic of your home or office

Once you’re able to determine what the main issues your are experiencing with your windows are, you can decide which direction to go quite quickly. In my opinion, if you’re looking to reduce glare, and heat, the best interior film option will be Night Vision 15. Along with a 43% heat reduction, this film comes with a great price point. In my opinion 3M Night Vision 15 offers the most bang for your buck.

If you have Wood Frames, French Panes, or incredible views, my expert suggestion would be 3M Interior Prestige 50. This film provides a 25% heat reduction, and in my opinion makes your views even better by adding just a tinge of shade which enhances the outdoor colors and views. It’s my personal favorite.

There are so many film options which can make deciding difficult, but with all the options it allows customers to customize a film choice specific to their needs. I hope this BLOG will make it easier to decide which interior film product will work best for you.

We just went over our interior products here, but also have amazing exterior products for those looking to reduce as much heat as possible. Check out our Exterior Window Film Blog post to learn more about our exterior film options.

If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to us at 303-862-6376 or info@coloradosolarvision.com.

By, Shelley Meador

Adding Solar Film to French Panes

Home in Avon, CO having 3M Prestige 70 applied

Having a Window Film company based in Colorado means there’s no shortage of French Paned windows. We have a vast array of home styles in Colorado from Swiss Chalet, and Mountain Modern in our High Country, to historical Bungalows and Four Squares in Denver. All of which can contain a variety of different French Pane types.

While French Panes may seem like a simple process, it can be anything but. Even though the panes are small, they are all like individual windows for film application. Each piece has to be individually cut and installed, much like a large window.

Since we’ve done our fair share of French Panes, and have learned what does and does not work, we’ve limited our film options to 3M Prestige 50, 60, or 70.

Example of Light Gap

3M Prestige Window Films work great on French Panes. They reduce heat, and fading without changing the look of the glass. Going with a dark film on French Panes can be a mistake as you run the risk of noticeable light gaps between the film and window frame.

When choosing a company to apply film to your French Paned windows, ensure you hire a company that has a lot of experience with this application. At Solar Vision Inc. our Film Installers have had plenty of practice, and new Installers are put through in-house training where they practice this application on demo windows.

Call Solar Vision Inc. 303-862-6376

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Call Solar Vision Inc. 303-862-6376 〰️

Home in Larkspur with 3M Prestige 70 application

Call Solar Vision Inc. today at 303-862-6376 or email info@coloradosolarvision.com to have film applied to your French Panes. A film application will reduce UV and Heat, protecting your home and frames from fading and damage.

New Windows $$$$ vs. Window Film $

Home in Reunion neighborhood of Commerce City, with 3M Night Vision 25 applied to all of the homes windows. 99% UV rejection, Solar Heat Reduction of 29% solar heat reduction, and 72% glare reduction.

At a certain point in your homes lifespan you might need new windows. When or how that happens is a different story dependent on the quality of windows your home got in the first place, and regardless of that, the need for a complete window replacement is something that will take no less than 15 years to become an issue even worth looking into, and why is this, well for one it’s incredibly expensive! And the other reason is because you can have window film installed for a fraction of the cost.

I know this because I need new windows. I know….the horror! How could a window film dealer throw in the towel and buy new windows. Well here’s the story, our house is about 20 years old, and our windows are busted up! The glass itself performs well, because well, we have window film, but outside that our frames are a mess, and it’s hard to even open and shut or lock our windows.

When Heath (my husband) and I moved into our home about 8 years ago, the seals on the entire west side of our house were blown, the glass sliding doors were super scratched from the previous Owners dogs, and now we’re noticing Low-E failure on a few of the windows. We’ve been avoiding fixing the issue for years because of the cost, but after 8 years we’ve decided to finally throw in the towel and purchase new windows.

When our Salesman came to the appointment he broke out his BTU meter (a device that measures heat), and heat lamp to show us how well his glass performed over ours, but sadly to his dismay, our glass performed better because we had Night Vision 15 applied to it. He was not expecting this, and really didn’t know which direction to go with his sales pitch. I reminded him that our windows have film and perform incredibly well, but what we needed was a clean slate. I told him I also didn’t need to see a heat lamp, what I needed to see were numbers like the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient of the glass, the U-Value, Light Transparency, and UV reduction. Unfortunately he didn’t have this on him, but I was able to google it and pull that info. Apparently many people don’t ask for the specifications, all he has to do is a heat lamp presentation vs. their standard glass. His presentation is probably pretty impressive most of the time, because standard builder glass that many Home Owners have, does not perform well, and lets in tons of heat and all the UV.

So why am I telling this story while trying to sell film. Well, because not everyone has the busted up window issues that we are dealing with. If your window frames, and seals are in good shape, but your actual glass underperforms, you’d be spending way too much money to have new windows installed when you can simply upgrade them with a solar control window film. If a customer called with my exact house asking to have the west side filmed, our approximate estimate would be around $3500.00 vs. new windows which are $15,000.00!!! That’s a 1/4 of the cost. It’s a no brainer really.

Half of the west side of my house located in the Reunion neighborhood of Commerce City. Currently has 3M Night Vision 15 applied, which rejects 99% of the UV, reduces solar heat up to 43%, and an 81% glare reduction. I’ll update post when my new windows are installed.

If your windows are really old, or single paned, or have terrible frames, our films can’t fix that. But if you are only dealing with performance issues, window film will actually perform better than most high performing glass, at a much lower cost. I know when my new windows go in, they’ll still be getting some film. The new glass only blocks about 50%, of UV, and I want 99% UV reduction. I also want to further reduce the amount of solar heat coming into my home past the abilities of the new glass, and of course with west facing windows, I’ll need some glare control. In general most windows, even new high performing ones can further benefit from the application of a solar control film. Believe me, we’ve applied film to beautiful brand new glass for many Home Owners as well, where the glass alone just wasn’t cutting it, especially when it came to UV rejection, and fading of floors and furnishings.

If you are looking to upgrade your windows, call us at 303-862-6376 or email info@coloradosolarvision.com . - Shelley Meador