Solar Screens vs. Window Tinting

Window tinting has been around for many years as an option to reduce the ultraviolet rays and heat as a result of the mid-afternoon sun beating down into a Tampa home or business.  While an effective strategy, solar screens offer a much better option for several reasons:

Maintain Window Manufacturer Warranty

Once you add a tint to low E windows, its manufacturer warranty is, in most cases, immediately void.  Solar screens do not even touch the windows, therefore pose no detrimental effects.

Window Tint Applied Inside the Windows

Window tinting is applied to the inside of a windows, therefore the UV rays and heat have already made it inside the building and are much harder to repel.  Solar screens work outside of the window and reflect up to 80% of the UV light before it even reaches the surface of the window.

Solar Screens are Removable

Once you install tinting, it is forever a part of the window unless you go through the painstaking process of removing the film pasted to the window with adhesive.  Solar screens are as easy to remove as the regular insect screens you replaced to install them.  Store them easily in a closet where they are ready to put up when desired.

Here are a few reasons you may like to take off your solar screens:

• Since solar screens block heat as well as light, you may want to take them off in the wintertime.  Although not extremely cold in Florida, it could still help control your energy costs for another couple of months a year if you let the sun penetrate into the home or office to heat it during the winter.
• Many people don’t like tinted windows so I may affect your home value if you ever intend to sell it.

Solar Screens More Aesthetically Pleasing

The wide variety of choices available for both the frame and actual screen material make window screens a pleasing enhancement to the curb appeal of a home.  Take a look at our gallery of homes with exterior solar screens installed and the available colors.

Window Tinting can Bubble or Peel

Everyone has seen a window with tinting peeling back in layers or bubbling from the inside. This situation can be caused by an unprofessional installation, faulty tinting material, faulty adhesion, or simply due to time and weather conditions presented by the hot Tampa sun and constantly fluctuating humidity.

Once these problems occur, fixing them involves a time consuming and painstaking process of removing the tint then reapplying. Solar Screens simply snap on and can be removed at any point.

Call us today to set up a free consultation and estimate at your home or business.