House Window Tinting

[chiang mai]

Does anyone have positive experiences with local (Chiang Mai area) firms selling and installing this type of product?

We're primarily interested in reducing afternoon heat through glass doors and this is just one part of a larger program aimed at reducing heat levels in our home.

One company that has caught our attention is "Solarkool", does anyone have any first hand experience they wish to share?

Many thanks in advance.

[mcm991]

Khun Oh at Thai Conch is worth a call.

http://www.thaiconch.com/

The quality is second to none ........ but can cost a little more. Most of her clients are farang.

She has a new product that I've been meaning to go and see but not had time yet. It is a heat reducing window film that potentially saves 35% of your cooling bill.... or so she says.

[MrBrad]

About six years ago I had windows done by the people at a place just a block west of the railway station. They had several different qualities of tinting to choose from. I don't remember what strength I bought--nor the price, but it really did make a significant difference. Give them your measurements, and they'll take it from there.

Here's the streetview; it's the building with the triple wooden gables. http://goo.gl/maps/YG1iU

[mcm991]

Just remember that tinting is not always also cooling.

You need a product that is designed to reject thermal energy.

It can be a significant expense ... best to do your homework.

Even the numbers that the manufacturers use can be deceiving. You need to look at the IR end of the spectrum and see which wavelengths are actually being filtered. It is not always as it seems.

[masuk]

I'm amazed that there seem to be so few eaves or verandahs here. After all, it is a tropical country.

[bangmai]

Just remember that tinting is not always also cooling.

You need a product that is designed to reject thermal energy.

It can be a significant expense ... best to do your homework.

Even the numbers that the manufacturers use can be deceiving. You need to look at the IR end of the spectrum and see which wavelengths are actually being filtered. It is not always as it seems.

True....the glass will still be hot as he(( to the touch..meaning their is a huge exchange going on....Low E is the standard. "Film" is the standard for Puerto Ricans with Oldsmobiles. I replaced the 4 foot by 3 foot ranch sliders in my 70 year old house with dual pane--low E for about 3200 thb per window with Jeld-Wen windows.....that was in the US........use it as a guideline, but they did conform to the newest California Energy standards.

[sappersrest]

Just remember that tinting is not always also cooling.

You need a product that is designed to reject thermal energy.

It can be a significant expense ... best to do your homework.

Even the numbers that the manufacturers use can be deceiving. You need to look at the IR end of the spectrum and see which wavelengths are actually being filtered. It is not always as it seems.

True....the glass will still be hot as he(( to the touch..meaning their is a huge exchange going on....Low E is the standard. "Film" is the standard for Puerto Ricans with Oldsmobiles. I replaced the 4 foot by 3 foot ranch sliders in my 70 year old house with dual pane--low E for about 3200 thb per window with Jeld-Wen windows.....that was in the US........use it as a guideline, but they did conform to the newest California Energy standards.

We live in Chiang Mai bit of a long way way to go to get tints? Or do they travel to Thailand?

[chiang mai]

I'm amazed that there seem to be so few eaves or verandahs here. After all, it is a tropical country.

We have large overhanging eves and verandahs, excellent balanced roof ventilation, nine inches of insulation (bats) in the attic, radiant barriers plus large trees in the garden. None of which prevents the sun from striking three sets of sliding glass doors in the afternoon, when the sun is high in the sky. Initially we had installed external bamboo curtains to shade the glass and that worked well, but as the sun moved so does the need to move the curtains which is getting tiresome.

If anyone else has other leads on home window film/tinting companies in the Chiang Mai area, we'll be pleased to hear about them.

[bangmai]

Just remember that tinting is not always also cooling.

You need a product that is designed to reject thermal energy.

It can be a significant expense ... best to do your homework.

Even the numbers that the manufacturers use can be deceiving. You need to look at the IR end of the spectrum and see which wavelengths are actually being filtered. It is not always as it seems.

True....the glass will still be hot as he(( to the touch..meaning their is a huge exchange going on....Low E is the standard. "Film" is the standard for Puerto Ricans with Oldsmobiles. I replaced the 4 foot by 3 foot ranch sliders in my 70 year old house with dual pane--low E for about 3200 thb per window with Jeld-Wen windows.....that was in the US........use it as a guideline, but they did conform to the newest California Energy standards.

We live in Chiang Mai bit of a long way way to go to get tints? Or do they travel to Thailand?

Not only did you miss my whole point, which was replace not tint...but you also missed the words "USE IT AS A GUIDELINE." Since wages are 8 times higher in the US than here; it seems like something similar should be available. http://www.jeld-wen.com/catalog/windows/about-windows/225-understanding-energy-efficiency-related-terms

[chiang mai]

Just remember that tinting is not always also cooling.

You need a product that is designed to reject thermal energy.

It can be a significant expense ... best to do your homework.

Even the numbers that the manufacturers use can be deceiving. You need to look at the IR end of the spectrum and see which wavelengths are actually being filtered. It is not always as it seems.

True....the glass will still be hot as he(( to the touch..meaning their is a huge exchange going on....Low E is the standard. "Film" is the standard for Puerto Ricans with Oldsmobiles. I replaced the 4 foot by 3 foot ranch sliders in my 70 year old house with dual pane--low E for about 3200 thb per window with Jeld-Wen windows.....that was in the US........use it as a guideline, but they did conform to the newest California Energy standards.

We live in Chiang Mai bit of a long way way to go to get tints? Or do they travel to Thailand?

Not only did you miss my whole point, which was replace not tint...but you also missed the words "USE IT AS A GUIDELINE." Since wages are 8 times higher in the US than here; it seems like something similar should be available. http://www.jeld-wen.com/catalog/windows/about-windows/225-understanding-energy-efficiency-related-terms

I'm not interested in replacement windows, the cost of Thai Asahi double glazed e units in Thailand are prohibitively expensive, for one set of the four sliders I mentioned, the replacement cost of glass alone is circa THB 38k, that does not include fabricating the double glazed units, nor does it include the cost of new frames to accommodate the thicker heavier units. Tinted film for the same slider units appears to cost around THB 4.5 k each, it really is a no brainer.

Now please, may we get back to my original question!

[Dante99]

Probably not but we can try. Amnuay Motor Air 2 and other automotive film places do it. Amnuay is a quality shop used by many with good results.

[chiang mai]

Probably not but we can try. Amnuay Motor Air 2 and other automotive film places do it. Amnuay is a quality shop used by many with good results.

Thanks for that, I hadn't thought of Amnuay, I like their business and use them for all things automotive, I'll go have a chat with them.

[chiang mai]

And the prize of the week goes to poster, Dante99 for his suggestion:

I've just come back from talking to Amnuay Air who tell me they install a range of different films on house and cars, they even have a light and heat test box set up to demonstrate the extent to which each film reduces heat and light penetration, PLUS, they know all the numbers and specs.

Best part is that their price is about 50% below my local installer and around 20% cheaper than anyone else I've come across here.

A deal has been done, and Dant99 is the man, don't let anyone tell you different.

The thread can be closed now is Mods so wish.

[Awk]

And the prize of the week goes to poster, Dante99 for his suggestion:

I've just come back from talking to Amnuay Air who tell me they install a range of different films on house and cars, they even have a light and heat test box set up to demonstrate the extent to which each film reduces heat and light penetration, PLUS, they know all the numbers and specs.

Best part is that their price is about 50% below my local installer and around 20% cheaper than anyone else I've come across here.

A deal has been done, and Dant99 is the man, don't let anyone tell you different.

The thread can be closed now is Mods so wish.

I suspect I want to do something similar, perhaps others too, so a follow-up regarding the experience and effect would be nice.

[chiang mai]

And the prize of the week goes to poster, Dante99 for his suggestion:

I've just come back from talking to Amnuay Air who tell me they install a range of different films on house and cars, they even have a light and heat test box set up to demonstrate the extent to which each film reduces heat and light penetration, PLUS, they know all the numbers and specs.

Best part is that their price is about 50% below my local installer and around 20% cheaper than anyone else I've come across here.

A deal has been done, and Dant99 is the man, don't let anyone tell you different.

The thread can be closed now is Mods so wish.

I suspect I want to do something similar, perhaps others too, so a follow-up regarding the experience and effect would be nice.

I certainly will do, installation is scheduled to begin tomorrow so I'll report back in a few days. FWIW I'm doing four sets of sliding glass doors, each with a window to either side and all windows get hit by direct afternoon sun, about 17 square metres of glass.

[chiang mai]

So here's the first half of my feedback on the work we had done:

The installation team of three showed up on time and finished the work in about six hours, nice guys who knew what they were doing and didn't make a mess and cleaned up at the end.

The living room is now much darker than before but since two of the walls are almost entirely glass, it was way too light to start with. The tint makes the room appear much warmer and softer on the eye and filters/sharpens all the colors outside, we're very pleased with the appearance and regard it as a substantial improvement. Waking up this morning around 05:30, just as dawn was breaking, it appears as though it's still very dark outside whereas light from another untinted window suggests it's quite light already, I guess we'll be sleeping in later as a result. It's now 06:15 and the light through the tinted glass is at the desired levels.

The outside view looking in is of mirrored glass during daytime hours and that has given us a massive increase in privacy, previously we were in a fishbowl and now we are completely hidden - we're very pleased with this aspect.

Whilst the living room yesterday evening did indeed feel cooler, it's too early to conclude on the heat reduction aspect although all the signs are very positive, this is because yesterday was quite cloudy plus the work wasn't finished until around 4 pm hence we haven't been able to test for a full day with intense sun, I'll report back tomorrow and let you know.

EDIT to add: after the installation team left the owner/supplier called us to see if we were satisfied and to reinforce that we should contact him if any problems develop, a nice touch I thought.

Edited June 11, 2015 by chiang mai

[CMKiwi]

Very good feedback Chiang Mai, and such a change to hear of a firm/company that knows about customer service. I will keep this outfit in mind should I need their services and will also spread their name around.

Its not that often you hear positive feedback on companies (Especially in this forum ) So well done to Amnuay Air and to CM for letting us know.

[Dante99]

Very good feedback Chiang Mai, and such a change to hear of a firm/company that knows about customer service. I will keep this outfit in mind should I need their services and will also spread their name around.

Its not that often you hear positive feedback on companies (Especially in this forum ) So well done to Amnuay Air and to CM for letting us know.

Over the years much positive comment on Amnuay here. They do ac, audio, lights and electrical repairs too. I like shop 2 on the Super Highway, the brother who runs it is very helpful, knowledgable and checks on the work.

[chiang mai]

The jury is back in and the verdict is that the window film does help make the room much cooler. The room in question continues to get warm during the afternoon but much later far less so than before and the peak is also much much lower, consequently the room cools more rapidly after the sun ceases contact with the glass. The glass also still gets hot but it does not radiate heat into the room, I suspect the source of heat being the frames and the surrounding concrete, for those reasons I have elected to keep the external bamboo curtains although they are no longer mandatory.

Bottom line:

Good product, great supplier, definitely worth the investment as a part of an overall house cooling program which considers ALL sources and forms of heat, radiant, convected and conducted. Cost: below THB 1k a square metre. I rate the benefits as: Improved outlook/view - 20%, Improved security/privacy - 30%, heat reduction - 50%.

OK, I'm done here but if anyone has any questions, shout.

[mcm991]

The jury is back in and the verdict is that the window film does help make the room much cooler. The room in question continues to get warm during the afternoon but much later far less so than before and the peak is also much much lower, consequently the room cools more rapidly after the sun ceases contact with the glass. The glass also still gets hot but it does not radiate heat into the room, I suspect the source of heat being the frames and the surrounding concrete, for those reasons I have elected to keep the external bamboo curtains although they are no longer mandatory.

Bottom line:

Good product, great supplier, definitely worth the investment as a part of an overall house cooling program which considers ALL sources and forms of heat, radiant, convected and conducted. Cost: below THB 1k a square metre. I rate the benefits as: Improved outlook/view - 20%, Improved security/privacy - 30%, heat reduction - 50%.

OK, I'm done here but if anyone has any questions, shout.

Which product did you end up choosing ? (sorry ... I may have missed that bit earlier)

[chiang mai]

This is the product, from the Amnuay website:

http://www.amnuaymotor.com/en/car-and-building-film/