Gotta Wear Shades

The abundant sunshine in Southern California makes it a beach lover’s hotspot, but those same solar rays sometimes force the HVAC systems of Los Angeles to sweat. One such building—the 54-story JW Marriott/Ritz Carlton hybrid complex—has an exterior that is sheathed in blue-tinted glass. The visual effect is stunning, but those many windows made it a challenge to cool.

“The glass was letting in a considerable amount of heat,” said Zack Burke of Burke and Associates, the architectural energy consultancy tasked with finding a solar-heat reduction solution for the tower. “So, we started by applying exterior window film to the lobbies of the residential areas as a test.”

Immediately, according to Burke, the temperature in those spaces dropped 10 to 15 degrees. After subsequent testing inside the hotel produced a similar outcome, his firm won the greenlight for a pair of installers to apply Avery Dennison R Silver 20i window film to the 30,000 sq. ft. of glass within the building’s meeting spaces. The project was completed in 30 days, according to a press release, and earned a $33,000 energy rebate from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

“For the first time in five years, the building’s management was able to turn off their HVAC chillers in the treated area,” said Burke.

Window film is applied as a retrofit to existing glass to improve performance without having to replace the window, according to Randy Garcia, a Regional Technical Manager at Avery Dennison. Technology in the window film industry is continually improving, added Garcia, which means ever-thinner products that perform at ever-increasing levels. Plus, window films “work immediately. There is no down time, and in most cases the cost is less than replacement windows.”

Avery Dennison R Silver 20 interior window films are easy to install, according to the company, and they block more than 99% of UV light, provide an excellent level of heat rejection, and offer outstanding glare control. Additionally, the bold appearance can enhance a building’s aesthetics and help to maintain privacy.

Conversations regarding energy efficiency products frequently revolve around LED light bulbs and water-saving plumbing fixtures, according to Burke, but “architectural window films can have a big impact for building managers working to save energy and perhaps get LEED certified.”