University Cools Down With Window Film

BOULDER, Colo. — The University of Colorado implemented campuswide upgrades to improve daylighting and air conditioning in an effort to cool classrooms and cut down on costs.

The school has struggled with temperature control problems, which were causing discomfort to faculty and students. Heat-blocking window film options were explored to help reduce air conditioning costs.

The university selected V-Kool 40, an applied film that blocks heat while transmitting light for maximum natural daylighting. It blocks 65 percent of solar heat while transmitting 42.8 percent of visible light.

The product has a colorless transparency and non mirror-like reflectance, so the school was able to install it on selective windows, such as south and west facing glass, without affecting the overall aesthetics of the campus.

“Of major concern was the necessity that the applied film be transparent and colorless so as not to change the appearance of our buildings,” says Moe Tabrizi, campus resource energy conservation officer at the university.

More than 8,800 square feet of V-Kool 40 were installed on portions of the south, west and east facades of six major campus buildings since the project began.

“In buildings with air conditioning, we have reduced the cooling load and in buildings without air conditioning, occupants have noted a cooler climate,” Tabrizi says.

The school plans to install more of the window film on additional campus buildings in the future.