When
sunshine penetrates the glazing on a building
it can heat up the inside of the premises to
such a point that it causes discomfort to the
staff.
This situation occured on TBS Ltd's new book distribution
centre at Frating, Essex. To overcome the problem, the
company had Madico Duralux 500 window film, type SG340X-K
Neutral Grey, applied to the outer face of the glass.
Duralux 500 films reject solar heat through a combination
of reflecting and absorbing the sun's rays and hence
reduced the eat gain at Frating to an acceptable level.
Duralux 500 films have a special finish made of Kynar®
polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), which is a long-lasting
exterior coating suitable for use on the external surface
of double glazed units. Using it on the outside ensures
that unwanted heat is deflected back into the atmosphere
before it actually gets to the glass. This means that
the glass is not subjected to high levels of heat gain
that could occurif the film were installed on the inside,
and therefore reduces the risk of the glass in sealed
double glazed units cracking as a result of thermal
stress.
"The building was constructed
without air conditioning," said Sandra Marvin
of TBS Ltd, "and as a result got very hot during
the summer. As soon as the film had been installed
we noticed a drop in temperature. It acheived our
objective of reducing the effects of sunlight without
cutting out any natural light."
