Solar Control

One of the most damaging effects of solar heat gain happens when cars are parked under the direct sun for long periods of time. Heat sensitive materials left on a dashboard or on a seat can be ruined in a very short time as interior temperatures climb as high as 180 °F.

XIR® solar reflective film laminated in a vehicle’s glass forms a virtually transparent, protective barrier against the sun’s damaging infrared heat.

Keep the Heat Out

Desert testing conducted by Southwall and The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) compared a control vehicle with standard tinted glass and a matching vehicle fully equipped with XIR 70 laminated glass (windshield, sidelites and backlite). Testing on vehicles parked in the sun with windows closed has shown that IR reflecting glass can reduce interior temperatures by up to 18 °F (10 °C).

Get Comfortable Fast

This reduction in interior temperature has a significant impact on occupant comfort. Under normal driving conditions, test results show that the car containing XIR film reduced "time to comfort" for passengers by 25%.

Improve Fuel Efficiency

Compared to the control vehicle equipped with standard tinted glass, the data further supports that a 3% improvement in fuel economy can be expected if the air conditioning compressor is reduced to accommodate for the reduced interior heat loads. The Office of Transportation Technology has indicated that in 2000, United States cars and light trucks consumed 122.8 billion gallons of fuel. Assuming air conditioners are running 25% of the time in the U.S., a 3% improvement in fuel economy translates into a $2.7 billion savings to consumers, based on an average fuel price of $3.00 per gallon.

Reduce Greenhouse Gas

In addition to the increased comfort and energy savings passed on to consumers, XIR laminated glass can also provide important benefits to our environment through reduced emissions of man-made gases that are responsible for destruction of ozone in the atmosphere. One of the largest sources of CFCs escaping into the earth’s atmosphere comes from the refrigerants in automobile air conditioners. Any reduction in air conditioning usage will help reduce the release of CFC gases that contribute to the problem of global warming.