Why do we tint our car?
Do I just walk into a car tint near me to get it installed?
Are there grades or quality tint that I should be concerned about?
Do I look for famous tint brands or simply getting a cheap car tint will do?
These are the questions that are probably running through your mind right now.
We’ll explain the basics of tinted cars and tint specifications to you, to get you well informed before making a decision to get your car tinted.
Malaysia is a country with hot weather throughout the year. With the ambient temperature of an average of more than 30 °C in the day, having blazing hot sun straight at our faces without a proper automotive tint installed isn't a particularly fun experience.
With that being said, Here is a fun fact, do you know it only takes up to 30 minutes for an average adult under the sun to get a beautiful sun tan?
How about something more relatable. The dried ikan bilis you eat in Nasi Lemak need to be sun dried for about 60 minutes to be ready for frying.
Another example? A typical residential type solar panel with the size of an average car’s front windscreen with a 15% conversion efficiency could yield up to 250 Watts of power which would theoretically power up a PS5 for an hour.
Why does it matter? An average driver in Malaysia spends 60 to 75 minutes everyday commuting in the car.
Let that sink in for a second. Can you imagine the devastating amount of heat that goes through your car windows everyday without any tint for protection against the sun?
Of course, even with the best tint installed, parking a car under the sun for a lengthy period of time will still gather some heat, but it won’t be as unbearable as a car without any tints.
How Much Heat Can a Tinted Car Window Protect us from?
Let us first understand some common terms used to calculate solar energy.
Solar radiation from the sun provides light and heat to Earth and after being filtered through the atmosphere can be generally summarized into 3 types of irrelevant bands or wavelengths.
The first one is the Infrared spectrum which spans from a range of 700nm to around 1mm, which covers around 53% of the total solar energy, making it a significant portion of the solar heat gain in the car.
Infrared light is not visible to the human eye and is commonly used in thermal imaging cameras and remote controls.
In the tinting industry, the measure of Infrared rejection (IRR) refers to the amount of Infrared ray that is being blocked out by the tint.
The second one is the Visible Light spectrum in the 400nm to 700nm range which is self explanatory, a wavelength that allows us humans to see based on what surface the Visible Light is reflected on.
The Visible Light emcompasses around 44% of the total solar heat, another major component in determining the heat gain from the sun.
The amount of Visible light allowed to be travelled through a tint is called the Visible light transmission (VLT), whereby the higher the VLT, the more light you will see.
The third one, is the Ultraviolet spectrum which contains wavelengths between 100nm to 400nm covering about 3% of the total solar heat gain.
Ultraviolet rays are considered more harmful in general as prolonged exposure would result in skin burns and at higher levels of exposure can cause significant effects to health.
Ultraviolet rejection (UVR) is the amount of Ultraviolet light being rejected from the tint.
However, it only emcompasses up to 3% of the total heat, this factor contributes the least heat.
How Do We Know If The Tint is Good in terms of Quality or Heat Rejection?
So, how does that help us determine the efficiency of a car tint?
Calculations of heat gain through a tint use these 3 variables above to calculate the Total Solar Energy Rejection (TSER%).
Do take note that this method of calculation is only in the form of an estimation and it is used as an indication in relative to another tint as comparison.
The calculation goes by this formula:
TSER % = [(IRR% 0.53) + (VLT% 0.44) + (UVR% 0.03)] (Tint Coefficient Factor)
Summary
Confusing? No worries. In other words, to get a decent car tint that is able to protect you from heat, all you need to look for is the TSER%.
Generally speaking, a good tint would have a TSER% value of more than 50%.
Some tint salesmen may try to sell you on how high the Infrared Rejection (IRR) is, but IRR is just a portion of the total heat being rejected and in no way could determine the true heat rejection level of the film.
Visible Light Transmission (VLT) on the other hand can be chosen (depending on how dark you want it), so you have control over this.
Most of the tinted films today have a protection to Ultraviolet (UV) of close to 99%, so the only relevant factor to look at is the TSER%.
You’ll often see the terms in window tint catalogue such as Visible Light Transmission (VLT), Infrared Rejection (IRR) and Ultraviolet Rejection (UVR).
Now, you can determine if the tint is of good quality based on the calculations of Total Solar Energy Rejection (TSER).
Now you won't be fooled by the tint workshop, offering confusing marketing jargons or even promoting off brand products to simply earn a quick buck from you.
That isn't to say well known brands are always the best, all brands have a different range of products to cater for different budget ranges too.
There are a lot of tints out there that are priced very cheap, simply because the specifications and technology just aren't that good.
We always recommend going for tints that do their job to protect us from the heat.
It simply doesn't make sense to get a tint that is cheap but offers poor protection to us and needs to be changed frequently.
It doesn't hurt to do your own due diligence on the subject matter or check out some online reviews to get the best services around.
Think of long term benefits instead of a short term gain! If you are interested to understand further, do check out this article here for Steps to Choose your Tint.
Guide to Understand Car Tint Heat Rejection for Engineers
Qualitatively, the main purpose of tinting your car is to protect yourself from the heat from the solar radiation and also provides comfort to the human inside.
Tints are installed to the windows of your car as a layer of protection against the 3 main solar irradiance that are not filtered from away by the atmosphere (Infrared, Visible Light & Ultraviolet Radiation spectrum).
The only 4 relevant quantitative metrics used in the layman specifications seen in the tint catalogue are the Visible Light Transmission (VLT), Infrared Rejection (IRR), Ultraviolet Rejection (UVR) and Total Solar Energy Rejected (TSER).
Since solar irradiance consists of 53% IR, 44% Visible Light & 3% UV, the formula to calculate the actual Total Solar Energy Rejected:
TSER% = [(IRR% 0.53) + (VLT% 0.44) + (UVR% 0.03)] (Tint Coefficient Factor)
Tint Coefficient Factor differs depending on the type of materials used in manufacturing the film.
Different material composition will correspond to different heat rejection properties, thus yielding a different Tint Coefficient Factor (ranges from 0-1).
Naturally, the greater the TSER%, the better the heat rejection of the tint.
Guide to Understand Car Tint Heat Rejection for Doctors
The obvious reason to get your cars tinted is to protect ourselves against the sun.
Sun glares disrupt one’s vision which may prove to be dangerous on the road. Prolonged heat exposure causes health issues like exsiccosis and heat exhaustion.
Tints are installed onto the windows of a car offering a layer of protection.
Think of it as a permanent sunblock applied on top of the epidermis protecting it from UV with additional function to filter Visible Light & Infrared Radiation as well.
Common tint specifications to look at are the Visible Light Transmission (VLT), Infrared Rejection (IRR), Ultraviolet Rejection (UVR) & Total Solar Energy Rejected (TSER).
I like to see them like blood cells.
Platelets are the IRR being the highest concentration in the blood (highest contributing factor of heat) followed by Red blood cells being the VLT having the second highest concentration in blood (second highest contributor heat) and the UVR are the White blood cells, lowest in concentration (lowest contributor heat).
TSER is the average heat rejection corresponding to the 3 factors above and is by far the most reliable way to judge a tint’s efficiency. Generally speaking, a decent tint has more than 50% TSER.
Guide to Understand Car Tint Heat Rejection for Accountants
Believe it or not, choosing to tint a car is very similar to practicing accounting.
Purpose of Accounting
1) Ensure Control of Assets
2) Assist Decision Making
3) Communicate Financial Status (Health)
4) Comply with Law
5) Plan Future Activities
Steps to choose a tint for your car
1) Ensure control of your own health and comfort of yourself and family in the car by choosing to tint your car
2) Assist decision making on the tint you are getting based on filtering the specifications such as Total Solar Energy Rejection (TSER > 50%), Infrared Rejection (IRR > 90%), Visible Light Transmission (VLT = JPJ) & Ultraviolet Rejection (UVR > 99%)
3) Communicate with the tint salesman and ask for tint that provides warranty throughout its lifespan by ensuring product and colour durability (Healthy tint)
4) Ensure that the darkness of the tint (VLT) you choose complies with the JPJ regulation of Front Windscreen 70%, Front Sides 50%, Rear Sides & Rear Windscreen not regulated
5) Plan of the future of your pockets by opting for long term, durable and high quality tint instead if cheap tint that needs replacement every now and then
Guide to Understand Car Tint Heat Rejection for Lawyers
Is it possible to sue the Sun? What if the Sun glare has caused you an accident on the road or gave you health problems from over exposure?
Well, while suing an inanimate object has been done before in rem jurisdiction, the International Space Law states that there is no claim for sovereignty in space, hence, no nation or individual can own space, stars & planets.
Since your chances of suing the Sun will most likely be impossible, the duty of protecting oneself against the Sun lies upon your own decision.
Hence, installing a good quality tint is not only essential, it is rational. So how do we choose the best possible car tint to protect against the heat from the Sun?
Here are some common terms used:
VLT: Shows the darkness of a tint. According the latest JPJ Law, 70% for Front Windscreen and 50% for Front Sides. The others windows are not regulated
IRR: Shows how much Infrared heat is being rejected. The higher the better, but we recommend nothing less than a 90%. Not to be confused with overall solar heat rejection
UVR: Shows how much Ultraviolet is being rejected. Most films out there are 99% and above
TSER: Shows the total heat from the Sun blocked by the tint. Anything above 50% is considered decent in heat rejection
Lawyers & the Tinting Industry
These two professions hardly coincide in a sentence.
It is sad to say that there is some negative social stigma placed on Lawyers.
Same goes for the tinting industry as well!
Here are some of the similarities on the negative social stigma:
Traditional Mindset towards Lawyers | Traditional Mindset on Tinting Industry |
Ruthless Creatures with no Heart, only focused on winning the lawsuit | Ruthless uneducated people only focused on closing the sales and will probably never hear from them again |
Will do anything to money disregarding what is right or wrong | Will do anything to reap more profits including swapping to poor quality tint as opposed to what is promised/paid for |
Play with Loopholes to their advantage and get you on the technicalities | Over-declare or lie about product’s specification in order to sell at a higher price |
Not only are these social stigmas blatantly wrong, it is also unfair to over generalize a specific group’s behaviour based on one or two rotten eggs.
In fact, here are some positive thoughts:
Positive thoughts on Lawyers | Positive thoughts on Tinting Industry |
Dedication in serving the best interest of their clients, advising them on the strengths and weaknesses of the case | Provide informative pre-sales decision making explanation to customers, good workmanship and after sales service |
Solves Clients problems and providing them with knowledge of their legal rights and options in the most cost effective manner | Solves customer’s problem and provide a worry free service at an affordable price |
Focused on Justice, Ethics & Protection of the Vulnerable | Focused on Honest & Genuine Products and Services |
Don’t you agree that we should all spread positive thoughts and stop with the negative stigmas around?
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