In buying window tinting films, the first thing you have to know is that residential window films are different from auto window films. Never use a residential window tinting film for your car. Some people sometimes use auto window tint for their house's windows but they have taken some precautionary steps to properly install it in their residential windows. However, if you do not want to spend money fixing and repairing damages, try NOT to use auto window tinting film for your house.



Now that you know the ideal tinting film for your house's windows, the next thing you have to do is to know the properties that you should look for in a window tinting film. Here are some of those properties.

• You want to use tint for your windows to have some privacy. So the first thing you should look for in a film is its reflective properties. Window tints for homes have varying degrees of reflectivity. If you want to have a very private house interior especially at daytime, this means people from outside cannot see what is inside, you should choose metalized films such as silver or bronze metalized films. You can also choose non-metalized window tinting films, however, they do not provide as much interior privacy as the metalized tints. Keep in mind that you should properly prepare your window glass by cleaning it because this can cause imperfections once the window films, especially the metalized ones, have been installed.

• Keeping the harmful UV rays away from your house's interior should also be your main concern. UV rays are not only bad for people (they can cause certain type of cancer), they also cause fading in your curtains, carpet, and upholstery. Thankfully, almost all home window tinting films can block around 96% or more of the UV rays that might enter your house. Some very high performance home window tints can even block 99% or more of these sun's rays.

• Window tints are also installed to control the amount of light that enters the rooms. Some tints have numbers in them such as 2, 5, or 30. These numbers correspond to the amount of light that can enter your house if you install the film. For example, if you choose a film with the number 2, it means only 2% of light can enter your house, 5 is 5% of light, 30 is 30% of light, and so on. The higher the number is, the lighter the tint, and the higher the amount of light can enter your room.

• For residential window tinting films, they have the dry adhesive properties. Dry tint films are much easier to use and install compared to Acrylic films which are used in cars. There's room for mistakes if you use dry adhesive films.

To sum things up, you should ask yourself 3 things: 1) Will I choose metalized or non-metalized? 2) How much light do I want to enter inside the house? 3) Should I use regular or high-performance? After considering all these factors, you are now ready to buy a home tinting film for your windows to have that privacy and comfort that you want in your house.