We get a lot of questions in the winter season pertaining to how window tinting affects insulation. The reason is that a large portion of our clients purchase window film in an effort to reduce the amount of heat pouring in via their windows. Our answer in the simplest form: if insulation is not your primary reason for window tinting, then this issue isn’t going to be much of a concern. However, an educated mind makes wiser decisions, so we’re game for tending the question. The first things we make sure our clients understand are the terms R-value and U-value. R-value and U-value both pertain to insulating numbers. R-value is typically associated with insulation and construction materials (i.e. wood, dry wall, brick, and insulation). U-value, while similar, is associated with windows and insulating the inside from letting out heat. Lower U-values mean a window has greater resistance to heat flow and has better insulating properties. A lot more could go into explaining these so this is the point in the discussion where we refer you to Google for any further inquiries on R- and U-value. When it comes to insulating a home or business windows are the typical weak spot with little to no influence on insulation compared to the R-values of the other insulating elements in a home. A standard window may have a U-value of .32 to .80. In order to compare these numbers to the R-values of other insulating factors, we can convert the U-value to R-value with the following equation: R-value = 1/U-value. So let’s say we have a window with a U-value of .32 and we want to know the R-value. R-value = 1/.32, therefore R-value = 3.125. This is still a fairly low number for an R-value, meaning this window still isn’t the best at insulating. Now let’s say we tint this window with our Vista V28 film, a pretty common film for residential installs. The U-value for V28 is 1.03. That’s an R-value of .97 in addition to the existing R-value of the window itself, totaling to an R-value of 4.1. That’s almost a 25% increase in R-value for the window, which is really good in small details. However, in the larger details, this increase is minimal compared to the higher levels of R-value elsewhere in the house. So, like I said before, if insulation is not your primary reason for window tinting, then this issue isn’t going to be much of a concern.