Car tinting has come a long way from its roots. Since more and more car owners are realizing its importance and the benefits it can provide to the safety, security, comfort, and health protection of its passengers, countless tinting companies have been put up and are being put up as the years pass by.
Not only that, the technology of car window tinting is being innovated and developed today more than ever. From the simple logic of adding extra layers of dark tint to a vehicle’s windows sprung the idea of self-tinting glass, violation scanners, and a booming tinting industry in the next few years.
This is the future of car window tinting:
Violation Scanner
Since tints that are too dark can post a threat to drivers and pedestrians alike, the percentage or level of darkness of tints are closely regulated depending on the country or state.
In the UK, the law rules that front windscreens and front side windows depend on when the vehicle was first used. If the vehicle was first used on April 1, 1985, then the required percentage of the darkness of the tint should be at least 75% of light through and the front side windows must let at least 70% of light through. For cars that are first used before April 1, 1985, the front windscreen and front side windows must both let at least 70% of light through.Police are responsible in apprehending violators, pulling them over and manually checking the tint level.
However, authorities are doing it differently in Malaysia. According to reports, unregulated tint films when all window tinting on newly-registered vehicles will be checked through a built in QR Code Security labels on the films itself. This will enable enforcement officers to only scan the code using the compatible phone app to get its full specifications. These MS2669-certified tints which are expected to be available before January 2018 only in Malaysia.
Self-tinting Glass
Electrochromic glass or “smart” glass, is not really a new thing, considering its debut a few years back. It was called as such because it has the capacity to change from light to dark (clear to opaque) and back again, at the push of a button.
Currently, scientists working on electrochromic technology are developing a very thin coating that could be retro-fitted to existing windows. This can be a great alternative because replacing the glass itself can be very hard on the budget. Thus, applying a coating on top of the already installed glass can greatly reducing the cost of the process.
Another possibility might be to combine electrochromic windows and solar cells so that instead of uselessly reflecting away sunlight, darkened smart windows could soak up that energy and store it for later. It’s easy to imagine windows that capture some of the solar energy falling on them during the day and store it in batteries that can power lights inside your home at night, though, of course, a window can’t be 100 percent transparent and working as a 100 percent efficient solar panel at the same time. The incoming energy is either transmitted through the glass or absorbed and stored, but not both. A window that doubled as a solar cell would likely involve compromise from both sides: it’d be a relatively dark window even when clear and much less efficient at capturing energy than a really good solar cell.
Booming Tinting Industry
One market study has predicted the continuous success of the tinting industry. Questale published a new industry research that focuses on Global Window Tint market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global Window Tint market. It covered current market size of the Global Window Tint and its growth rates based on 5-year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers in the market and concluded that the market is growing at a very rapid pace and with rise in technological innovation in the industry many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users.
SOURCES:
- https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/08/01/new-standard-for-car-window-tints-new-specification-to-also-feature-qr-code-labels/
- http://www.explainthatstuff.com/electrochromic-windows.html
- https://www.newsient.com/global-window-tint-market-size-sales-analysis-and-growth-trends-2017-2023/100539
- https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/stanford-smart-windows-go-dark/
