What is Tinted Glass?

We’ve all seen vehicle windows that appear darker than regular windows. These dark windows have a window tint applied to them, offering passengers privacy and protection from direct sunlight. Tinted glass applied to windows or doors offer these same benefits and more, including:

8 Benefits of Tinted Glass

Privacy
Security
UV Protection
Energy Efficiency
Comfort
Aesthetics
Shatter Protection
Easy Maintenance

Often, glass tint refers to tinted window glass for vehicles. However, tinted glass isn’t just for a car window. Tinted glass can be used for many projects, including home windows, tinted sliding glass doors, office windows, and shower doors.

By learning about the unique manufacturing process of window tint, the different types of tint options available, and its benefits, you’ll be ready to decide whether adding a glass tint to your new window or door makes sense.

Tinted glass is essentially colored glass. With a glass tint, the viewer looking through the window no longer sees things as crystal clear as they normally would. Rather, the view is slightly distorted by the darker color of the glass.

The more tinted the glass, the darker it appears, so there is a variance on how dark you might want the glass to be. While the glass is colored and the view is slightly obscured, you can still see through the glass. However, you may not be able to make out details on the other side as well, which is one of the main purposes of tinted glass.

Factory Tinted

Tinted glass comes in two forms: factory tinted glass and tinted window film. Factory tinted windows or glass sheets are float glass or heat-strengthened glass with small amounts of oxide metals added to them during production. These oxide metals are added to the molten glass, and they do not affect the basic properties of the glass, just the color of it. Different oxide metals will produce different colors; for example, oxide iron will produce a green color, while oxide cobalt will produce more of a blue color. Factory tint can be added to a variety of glass types, including heat-strengthened tempered glass, decorative textured glass, or regular annealed glass.

Tinted Window Film

Tinted window film is an aftermarket product that is applied to the glass after production. Tinted film is usually made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and is applied to the glass with an adhesive. Tinted window film typically comes in a roll, and you can apply it yourself with the right tools and materials. This type of tinted glass comes in a variety of colors and shades of tint.

Rustica has a few tinted glass options, the ‘retro’ tint or simply, ‘tint.’ The retro tint has a pronounced dark green hue that offers a vintage and nostalgic feel. The tint glass style is a dark charcoal tint that effectively blocks harsh light. It also offers privacy and style, making it perfect for a modern office door with tinted door glass or tinted glass shower doors. These tinted glass styles are available for all of our custom windows, doors, and shower doors.

8 Benefits of Tinted Glass

Now that we’ve gone into how tinted glass is made, and the different types available, let’s talk about some of the benefits this stylish glass finish can offer:

1. Privacy

The most distinctive and apparent benefit of tinted glass is the privacy it offers. Whether for a car window, office window, or glass door, tinted glass offers much more privacy than regular clear glass.

Tinted glass slightly obscures and darkens the image behind it, making it much more difficult for those passing by to see details through the glass. Privacy is important not only for your own comfort, but it’s also necessary for certain applications, such as protecting confidential information and valuable items. Because of this, tinted glass is often used for office windows and doors that face the public or home windows that face a busy street.

Even if you don’t require privacy for hiding valuable items, privacy helps create separation from one space to another. For example, a glass barn door as a home office door with tinted glass will help separate work from home life. This allows you to focus on work tasks without being distracted by household activity while still benefiting from a modern glass door.

2. Security

Whenever privacy is increased, so is security. In the same way that tinted glass windows or door glass offer increased privacy, they also offer increased security. This is because the details of valuable items or confidential paperwork are hidden from view by the dark glass. When such details are hidden from view, it deters someone from wanting to break in and steal them.

If break-ins or people looking into your space are a concern, then tinted glass is a great glass option to consider. Plus, if you choose tinted toughened glass, such as laminated glass or tempered glass, you’ll increase your security that much more. Laminated glass and tempered glass are much stronger than tinted float glass or annealed glass, making them substantially harder to break.

With tinted toughened glass, you can increase the security of your space, ultimately making the area feel safer and more comfortable.

3. UV Protection

Tinted glass has the added benefit of significantly reducing harmful UV rays (ultraviolet rays), which helps protect your skin and belongings. Furnishings, such as couches, wooden furniture, carpets, or rugs that are exposed to direct sunlight are likely to fade and discolor over time due to UV damage. This is also true for the interior of a vehicle.

There are three types of UV rays: UVA, UVC, and UVB. Of those three, UVB rays and UVA rays are the biggest concern, as they can reach the Earth’s surface and increase your risk for skin cancer. While UVB rays can’t penetrate regular clear glass, UVA rays can.

While people are at less risk for UV radiation within buildings, they are still exposed to UV radiation if they sit next to a sunny window all day. The good news is that tinted glass windows greatly reduce the UVA rays coming through by up to 99.9%. In this way, tinted glass offers incredible UV protection, and will protect the vibrancy of your furnishings.

4. Energy Efficiency

One lesser-known benefit of tinted glass is its energy efficiency. According to the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, energy efficiency is “the use of less energy to perform the same task or produce the same result.” Energy efficiency is also described as energy saving.

Tinted glass is energy efficient because the colored glass absorbs solar heat and reduces the amount of natural light coming through, thus reducing solar heat gain. In the colder months, tinted glass will reflect the heat back into the home or business rather than letting it escape through the window glass.

Because of its ability to reduce solar heat gain and maintain steady indoor temperatures, tinted glass can help you save on energy bills each month. And if you want to further increase its energy efficiency, you might consider adding a low e coating. This special coating will exponentially increase the glass’s energy efficiency and insulating performance, creating steady temperatures year-round with minimal effort from your HVAC system.

5. Comfort

When you combine all the benefits of tinted glass, one of the greatest outcomes you’ll receive is increased comfort. With tinted glass, you have elevated privacy, security, UV protection, and steadier indoor temperatures. All those factors result in a more peaceful and comfortable space.

6. Aesthetics

When it comes to interior and exterior design, it isn’t just about function. The element of style, beauty, and aesthetics also plays an important role.

In this way, tinted glass has a style advantage. Not only is it a modern aesthetic in certain colors, but it can also create a retro or vintage look. With tinted glass windows and tinted door glass, you receive all the functional benefits and the undeniable style and aesthetics it brings to a space.

For example, consider a modern glass barn door for a home office. The addition of tinted glass adds a stylish twist to the already elegant doors, making them that much more sophisticated and intriguing.

7. Shatter Protection

One unique benefit of tinted window film is its slight shatter protection. Because there is a film applied to the window glass, if the window were to break, the broken glass would stick to the film rather than shatter to the ground. However, this benefit depends on the force of impact on the glass, and a strong impact could override this advantage. Furthermore, this benefit only applies to the tinted window film, not factory tinted windows or glass.

If you would like your window or tinted door glass to be completely shatterproof, consider choosing laminated glass. This glass type can be tinted, and has the advantage of advanced strength, impact resistance, and shatter protection. It’s considered a safety glass due to its ability to withstand direct impact, and because the glass doesn’t fall to the ground when broken.

Rather, it stays suspended in the glass frame, adhered to the plastic interlayer of the laminated glass.

8. Easy Maintenance

Tinted glass windows and tinted door glass are incredibly easy to maintain. Because the glass surface is smooth on both sides, it’s easy to wipe clean. Plus, the dark glass will help hide smudges, dirt, and fingerprints.

To clean tinted glass, simply apply a regular glass cleaner or a bit of soapy water to the glass surface and wipe clean with a damp cloth. Then, dry with a clean, dry microfiber cloth for a streak-free finish.

With factory tinted glass, you won’t have to worry about the tint scratching or fading over time. Tinted window film, on the other hand, will need to be replaced every 10 years, and is more prone to scratching and fading.

Custom Tinted Windows Offer Comfort and Privacy

Tinted glass isn’t just for car windows, it can also be used for custom home windows, high-quality glass shower doors, and commercial buildings storefronts! And when you opt for tinted glass in your next design project, you’ll receive more than just privacy glass. You’ll also receive extra security, comfort, UV protection, energy efficiency, style, and easy maintenance.

If you’re ready to design a custom window, glass barn door, or shower door with tinted glass, contact Rustica’s design team today! We’re more than happy to help you bring your vision to life.