From hot to not: Can darker tints keep your cabin cool?

Lemme talk to ya.

Picture this: Its a hot Sunday afternoon and you're getting ready to go out now. The scorching sun is showing no mercy. That's when you feel glad that you installed new dark as hell tints to the car but you can't help but notice the cabin still feels hot while driving during the day. "Why isn't it cooler?". " I installed good quality tints didn't I?". "Shouldn't it be cool in my cabin?". You asked yourself cluelessly. 

Well, clueless no more. Because I'm here and by the end of this article, you'll be both informed and wise to the issue. So today we're gonna talk about window tints and whether darker window tints give you cooler cabin or not.  Let's peel back the layers of this tinted mystery and find out.(see what I did there?)

Back in May 2019, the Transport minister, YB Anthony Loke, gave Malaysians some really good news - dark tints for rear windows are now officially allowed for private vehicles. The decision ended up being one of the most popular decision made by the Transport ministry then as the public general public rejoiced- claiming it's like a shield against hot weather and potential car heists. 

Note: The rules say the front windscreen can have a 70% Visible Light Transmission level (VLT), while the front windows get 50% VLT. As for the rear windows and windscreen? Well, you can pretty much go as dark as your want. The VLT is like the "darkness meter," so lower VLT equals darker tints. Got it?

So, you plan to install dark as hell tints to make sure your cabin stays cool huh. Are you sure about that? And sure, I agree that dark tints might help with lowering the chances of car break ins or car theft but it surely deprives you of optimal visibility when driving right? Especially at night time - double especially if your eyesight is not as good as before. 

Now, here's a truth bomb for you. Darker tints don't automatically guarantee you an ice-cool cabin. BOOM! It's all about the quality of the tint boys and girls. We're talking about Total Solar Energy Rejection (TSER) and Infrared Rejection (IRR) index. The higher these numbers, the cooler your cabin stays. 

Darker tints aren't always better when it comes to heat rejection. Cheap tints with low TSER and IRR index can turn your car into a mobile sauna because they're like sponges for heat - they absorb the heat. While high-quality tints on the other hand, repel the heat and keeps your cabin cool.

But wait, there's more! Tints with high VLT (clearer tints) can be just as cool as the darker tints - but how? All you gotta do is?..... Yes, smart!. All you gotta do is buy less darker tints but make sure they have a high TSER and IRR index and you're good to go. 

That said, It's all about the quality, baby! So, whether you're going with the darkest shades or that crystal-clear ones, make sure those tints have the right stats to keep you chillin' alright? 

Peace out guys.