SOLARIS - Sunbusting news and views on window film

Angie's List: Window film can curb heating/cooling costs - 13 WTHR

2011-09-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

Angie's List: Window film can curb heating/cooling costs - 13 WTHR

Home window tinting benefits

2011-08-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

Angie's List: Keeping Your House Cool With Window Film

2011-08-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Angie's List: Keeping Your House Cool With Window Film: "Jim Donovan reports on how you can keep your house cool with the help of window film."

SOLARIS Featured in INDY STAR!

2011-06-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

With glowing member reports and an impressive reputation for integrity, our years of service to the greater Indianapolis community came full circle Saturday June 25th, when SOLARIS was featured as the "local expert" in the Angie's Advice column for the Indianapolis Star home + garden section. SOLARIS was chosen by the Angie's List team and our very own Kevin Koval was interviewed for an entire piece on window film. We were flattered that Angie's List reached out to us, and we relished the opportunity to speak about the incredible benefits of window film, as well address warranty, installation and performance expectations. Are you ready to see what window film can do for you? Click the link below to learn more or contact us today!

Angie's Advice: Try window film to make room temp just right

Carmel High School gets Privacy with SOLARIS

2010-10-14T05:31:00.000-07:00

The Carmel Police office inside Carmel High School needed to get a bit more privacy while still being able to see out into the halls. Enter SOLARIS and our one-way mirror film. Students no longer can see who or what is going on inside the office while the officers have an unobstructed view into the halls. Just one of the many ways window film can inexpensively change your view on the world.

View more pics of our work at http://www.solarisfilm.com/

SOLARIS - AAA Discounts! via #constantcontact

2010-08-31T13:14:00.000-07:00

SOLARIS - AAA Discounts! via #constantcontact

SOLARIS Offers AAA "Show us your card" Discount Program

2010-08-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

SOLARIS Offers AAA "Show us your card" Discount Program

AAA "Show us your card" Discount!

2010-08-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

Membership does have it's priveleges. SOLARIS is offering a special savings for members of AAA! Simply flash your AAA Membership card to SOLARIS during your estimate and we will provide you with a 15% DISCOUNT on the total installation. There is no better time to take advantage of an application of window film!

Homeowners may also qualify for Federal tax credits in addition to the discounted price, providing even more incentive to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

Contact Kevin today to schedule an estimate!
Visit the AAA/VISTA website to learn more!

Church Brothers gets a new look

2010-07-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

Church Brothers Collision Repair in Castleton chose SOLARIS to help give them a new look. Doing some interior remodeling prompted them to take a hard look at the East and South facing windows. The roller shades had seen better days and just were not the look they wanted.

We recommended our maximum heat and glare blocking film from LLumar which allowed them to remove the old blinds entirely and achieve a clean look. The 84% heat rejection means the AC can keep up even on the hottest of days. The 93% Glare reduction means employees can see the computer screens with no eye strain and clients stay comfortable.

To dress up an office with glass walls, we installed a combination of frosted, patterned films for a professional, clean look with some enhanced privacy.

Indianapolis Receives $10m Energy Efficient Retro Fit Initiative

2010-04-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Our city is getting some help from the DOE to create sustainable neighborhood-scale energy efficiency pilot projects in Indianapolis. The project will transform a 470 square block neighborhood in the heart of Indianapolis to a more energy efficient and economically sustainable community by retrofitting a diverse range of buildings in the region including residential, industrial and commercial units, schools and nonprofits. The project will provide for investments in energy efficiency education and outreach among an existing network of community support organizations.

Window film is one of the most cost-effective, energy saving improvements one can make on a property and we hope Indianapolis will let SOLARIS be a part of the city's GREEN makeover. We will be working in the coming months to connect with the movers-shakers who have their hands on the energy efficient cookie jar, as we are confident in our products' ability to make massive improvements on utility bills. Participating in this initiative would be an amazing opportunity to put window film on the "must-have" list for every homeowner and business owner in the area!

Read the full press release here.

SOLARIS Announces NEW Window Film Technology - EnerLogic

2010-04-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

SOLARIS is proud to announce the availability of a new, unique and superior performing window film - EnerLogic. The EnerLogic Series is the latest addition in the VISTA line-up of residential and commercial films to feature a patent-pending low-e coating, providing up to 92% more insulating power to existing windows.

EnerLogic provides protection from the heat during the summer months by reflecting damaging rays away from the interior, easing the stress on air-conditioning and protecting your furnishings. In the winter, radiant heat from heating systems is directed back into the room, reducing HVAC use and improving comfort.

Below is a list of EnerLogic's key performance points:

Outstanding Energy Efficiency – The patent-pending technology of EnerLogic window film effectivelytransforms the insulating power of single-pane windows into double-pane; and double-pane windowsinto triple-pane. The result is a significant increase in window efficiency at a fraction of window replacement cost.

Quick Payback – Windows typically account for 15% - 30% of a commercial building’s heating costs,and frequently more than 30% of cooling costs. EnerLogic window film is a low-cost, high-return technology that compares favorably to other popular energy-saving measures both in terms of energy efficiency and cost savings. In fact, EnerLogic outperforms most alternatives in terms of simple payback – averaging just 2.75 years. Plus, it may be eligible for energy rebates and LEED certification points.

Widens Tax Credit Eligibility – The EnerLogic 35, significantly widens tax credit eligibility for residential applications. Homeowners with popular vinyl frame, dual-pane clear windows may now be eligible for the Federal Tax Credit anywhere in the United States. Visit www.windowfilmtaxcredit.com for details.

Ready to learn more about this amazing technological breakthrough? Visit the EnerLogic website to see a short, yet informative video by clicking here: www.enerlogicfilm.com

SOLARIS has you (and your windows) covered, get ready to protect and SAVE this summer. Visit us on-line at www.solarisfilm.com for a fast quote, or to schedule an estimate!

Get a new look with decorative window film

2009-04-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Looking for an easy way to dress up your home or office windows? Decorative window films just might be the answer to your problems. With literally hundreds of choices, glass no longer has to be something plain.

Frosted glass, shapes, colors, themes, bevels, the sky is the limit. These films are easily applied and can be changed down the road if you change the space. Visit www.decorativefilmdepot.com or www.decorativefilm.com to view some options and find something you like.

Don't forget to visit our website and view some of our local work in the decorative photo gallery.

Green Businesses in Indianapolis

2009-02-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

"Green" is getting tossed around by almost every company you see these days. Just who decides what makes a green business? How are consumers supposed to wade through the "greenwashing" of the marketing department to find truly Green companies providing Green products.

www.indygreenbusiness.com takes the guesswork out of the equation. For starters, Qualifying member companies are required to be members of CICAP, (www.indycicap.org) the Central Indiana Clean Air Partnership. Potential members are then evaluated in six different areas: Waste Management, Recycling, Purchasing, Energy Conservation, Water Conservation and Transportation. Larger companies must score in all six areas to achieve membership with small companies needing to score in four of the six areas. There are currently 43 members which is a drop in the bucket of the thousands and thousands of local businesses.

This ambitious undertaking is in partnership with the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce (www.indychamber.com) and is increasing awareness of just how much more we can all do to make our world a better place.

Angie's List (www.angieslist.com) is also listing whether companies offer green products or are affiliated with green organizations.

SOLARIS is proud to be a member of the Green Business Initiative and we are constantly striving to reduce our impact on the environment and help our clients do the same. With energy costs on the rise, window film is an easy, affordable way to reduce your year-round. energy usage (and Carbon footprint).

When you make purchases, find out how green your vendors and contractors are. Supporting green companies sends a powerful message and benefits us all. Don't forget to use some common sense as well. When the company Hummer/Suburban/super truck rolls up to your home or office, you can be pretty sure that the environment is not first on their priority list.

Transom windows and fading

2008-06-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

One of the most common requests we receive here at SOLARIS is to put film on transom windows, primarily to protect furnishings from fading. The only problem with this is when we do not do the "eye level" windows below the transoms, the fade protection is questionable. In lots of homes, these "eye level" windows will have some type of covering, a blind or shade to offer privacy and glare control. BLINDS WORK GREAT WHEN THEY ARE CLOSED. If you ever open them up, it is only slightly better than having nothing on your windows.

This also applies to heat rejection. Window film is stopping heat at the source, before it enters your home. If a blind or shade is closed, they will primarily absorb heat, keeping it from directly entering the room but still acting as a radiator, pumping heat into the living space at a slightly slower rate than having the windows open. Lighter colors of coverings will reflect more solar energy which is better. Dark colors hang on to more heat and keep pushing it into the room.

Back to the transoms - putting film on the transoms and not on the rest of the windows in the room is similar to putting a bandage on part of a cut. You are still going to bleed if you don't cover the entire cut. I know it seems very simple and makes sense but we constantly get requests to only do the transom windows. Sure it costs a bit more to do more windows but in this instance, window film is like insurance, how much coverage are you comfortable with???

Automotive tint on residential windows

2007-12-10T11:58:00.001-08:00

Just say NO. Auto “tint” is made for cars, primarily for glare reduction, privacy and to make your car look good. Putting auto film on your home can create what we like to call the “Pimp your house” effect. If this wasn’t enough reason to not use auto film, most of these products have no warranty for flat glass (residential & commercial) applications and are much more likely to cause thermal stress glass breakage or seal failure of insulated glass windows. The four biggest strikes against auto film for home use are:

Dark – Most auto tint is designed to keep the light out with a grayish, charcoal appearance. Adding gray skies to the windows in your house is not very attractive on a sunny day and downright depressing on an overcast day.
Unsafe – Darker, non-reflective films (like auto tint) cause a lot of heat energy from the sun to be absorbed by the glass and surrounding window frame. Too much heat absorption can cause the glass to crack due to the rapid expansion on a sunny day. The seal in insulated glass units can shear due to these stresses causing the “foggy glass” effect from moisture in between the panes.
Wrong adhesive – Auto films use an aggressive PS (pressure sensitive) adhesive system that is prone to failure over time, especially if not installed properly. Simply put, the harder you push with this type of adhesive, the better it will stick. Think of all the times you see a post-it note that has fallen, you pick it up and push a bit harder to get it to stick. If you have ever seen a window with bubbled up tint, you can guarantee it was due to PS adhesive failure. Good flat glass films use a different type of adhesive to last a lifetime.
Low energy efficiency – Auto films are not designed with maximum energy efficiency in mind. Good flat glass films will keep heat out in the summer and in during the winter months.
Installation – Do you have your auto mechanic work on things around your home? Auto tinters are typically good on cars but just don’t get enough practice in homes to do the best work. I have trained both in the past and know this to be a fact. Since this is a product you look through every day, the installation quality is critical.

If this is not enough to discourage you from using auto film in your home, I’ll leave you with this story told to me by an auto tinter. His employer buys rejected film from a particular manufacturer at a ridiculously low price. They then use this for automotive customers to keep the cost down and margins high. The employees can buy this rejected film to use for “side jobs”, many of which are ending up in homes and businesses. These low-cost cash deals are putting hundreds of windows at risk, all in the quest to save a few bucks. Replacing one window will more than make up for any money saved on an initial installation cost.

If you are shopping around for window film and get a quote that seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Quality

2007-11-05T05:09:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks we have been called out to consult on replacing film that was poorly installed by other local companies. As much as we love to take down other people's work, it is frightening to think this level of installation and product quality is what potential future customers are being exposed to. I realize that price is always an issue when making a purchase but many people forget that window film is a product you will actually look through on a daily basis. In your home, this will be an annoyance but in the business/retail world, this can actually cost you clients.
When researching window film companies, make sure to ask about their installation process. The IWFA (International Window Film Association) has installation standards to use as a quality quideline. Better yet, where can you look at some of their public work. If they don't have a good retail location you can check out, that would send up a red flag. Past clients you can speak with, Angies List reports, etc. will only take a few minutes and possibly save many years of frustration.
When high-quality film is installed properly, most people will never notice anything is on the window. This is our goal in creating the Invisible Guarantee to assure the cleanest install in the industry.
Next time you see a bad "tint" job on a building, let us know so we can help clear up the view for everyone.

New Film on the Block

2007-10-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

The newest film from Vista called Nova Stellaris (VS42) is even better than we had hoped. Combining the unmatched optical clarity we have come to expect with ultra-high heat rejection (68%) in a package that adds no reflectivity and only the slightest change in appearance of existing windows.

This image is from a recent installation at Reindeer Auto (www.reindeerauto.com). The West exposure on the open main stairway was getting far too much heat, even with factory tinted glass. Not wanting to change the appearance from the exterior, VS42 was the perfect choice for invisible performance. This film will also increase the wintertime heat retaining properties of the windows by an additional 14% for year-round utility savings.
No other local company has the experience working with these new technology window films like SOLARIS. More pictures and success stories coming soon.