Patio doors: Too hot at home

Beautiful big panes of glass used in patio doors let loads of natural daylight flood in — but can be a nightmare when the sun shines. 

The owners of this lovely house in Bath had exactly this problem.

The issue was the intense heat and glare streaming through their large patio doors.

On top of the stifling heat and eye-blistering glare, the UV from the suns rays could also adversely affect fabrics, soft furnishings and wooden floors etc.

The living space was rendered practically unbearable.

Durable to the rescue

We have been dealing with solar control issues for over 50 years and know a thing or two about managing heat and glare through glass.

After a site visit we decided the best solution in this case was 3M Prestige 40 window film.

Prestige reflects 70% of the suns heat but is virtually invisible. Views are uninterrupted and soft furnishings are protected.

Prestige is a High-spec, High-tech, High-end window film from 3M. It’s a marvel of technological development and scientific application.

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How does an Amazonian butterfly help protect our homes and furnishings from the damaging effects of the sun?

The problem in so many homes with large-windowed areas like conservatories, bay windows and atriums has been how to prevent sun damage to fabrics, furnishings and floors without obscuring the view with tinted or mirrored window film or heavy and sometimes unsightly drapes or blinds.

Amazingly entomology (The scientific study of insects) has managed to provide the inspiration to revolutionise the existing technology to solve these problems in a classic case of technology imitating nature.

The beautifully elegant Amazonian Morpho butterfly appears to have brilliantly bright blue wings, but in fact is practically colourless. The amazing iridescent hue is created by multi-layered membranes of a specific thickness which ingeniously reflect the sun’s blue wavelengths. 

This simple, but clever principle became the inspiration behind the development of 3M Prestige protective window film.

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Nano-technology

The new nano-technology behind 3M Prestige makes the film optically clear, so it manages to protect your home interior without obscuring the clarity of your window. 

Other protective window films have had to rely on technology using metallic elements to provide protection which creates a tinted or mirrored effect on your window. Protective window films using metallic elements not only create high levels of unwanted reflection but also have a tendency to corrode in a coastal or humid environment.

Applied externally and virtually invisible, 3M Prestige protective window film prevents up to 99.9% of the sun’s harmful UV rays penetrating your windows and causing damage to fabrics, furnishings and flooring alike. 

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Listed buildings

This is of course extremely useful for listed buildings and landmark sites, which wish to solve these problems but at the same time wish to keep their exteriors and interiors looking traditional.

3M Prestige protective window film also has the great advantage that it allows your room to stay bright and naturally lit by only filtering out the sun’s harmful rays. Vision in and out of your window remains unimpaired while natural light levels inside your room also remain constant – relieving you of the cost implications of artificial lighting. For large-windowed areas which can suffer from extreme temperature changes during winter and summer – solutions have usually had a financial impact either in heating or cooling costs as well as compromising window clarity.

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The experts

Durable are the oldest window film company in Europe.

We are an authority on glass issues, trusted by the likes of the MoD, English Heritage, National Trust and more.

Durable — good with glass

0118 989 5201 | mail@durable.co.uk