Solar
Leaves the heat behind

Solar Control Performance for Automotive Glass

Modern cars of today are designed with large windows such as windshield and roof glass, giving passengers a more open and spacious feeling. It also means that due to the increase in glass size, more sunlight can enter the interior.

As many people have experienced, when sunlight enters a vehicle the temperature inside the vehicle will increase and you will feel heat on the skin. Thermal management becomes necessary to create a comfortable driving experience and reduce the energy consumption of air conditioners.

Most countries have regulations about the visible light transmittance of front windshields. Aside from proving safety measures, we believe that an interlayer film for laminated glass should also contribute to energy savings and passenger comfort.

What is Solar Control Glass?

Keeps you cool and blocks infrared rays without compromising clear vision.

Laminated glass with S-LEC™ Solar Control Film blocks infrared and UV (ultraviolet) rays but allows visible light rays for optical clarity without blocking the electromagnetic transmissions necessary for mobile phone and sensor communication. Solar absorbing glass realized by S-LEC™ Solar Control Film protects the driver and passengers because the cabin stays cooler and your skin does not burn.

Experience a comfortable, efficient, connected, and safe environment.

Solar Control Webinar

Learn all about the benefits.

S-LEC™ Solar Control Film blocks the sunlight entering a vehicle, providing comfort and reducing the energy consumption of air conditioners, contributing to extending the driving range of EVs.

In this webinar, we offer a wide variety of solutions provided by S-LEC™ Solar Control Film used in automotive laminated glasses all over the world.

Benefits

Download our various e-books to learn the benefits provided by S-LEC™ Solar Control Film.

  • Energy Saving
  • Thermal Comfort
  • Solar Innovation
Energy Saving with EV

For electric vehicles (EVs), which are becoming more widespread globally, it is important to reduce energy consumption in more ways than via driving only.

IR glass windshields and windows conserve energy. S-LEC™ Solar Control Film can reduce the energy used by the climate control function when cooling the car.  Through testing with electric vehicles, SEKISUI S-LEC showed a confirmed savings of up to 20% on air conditioning, which also contributes to extending the driving range for EVs.

Thermal Comfort
The infrared blocking PVB interlayer, S-LEC™ Solar Control Film limits the car’s interior temperature increase and keeps you comfortable regardless of the heat outside.

S-LEC™ Solar Control Film efficiently cuts heat at the wavelengths of 1450nm and 1900nm of the spectrum where the human skin is most sensitive to heat. SEKISUI S-LEC research showed that 94% of people prefer the thermal comfort of the solution by S-LEC™ Solar Control Film compared to standard glazing.
Solar Innovation

The required solar control performance on solar windshields and windows varies depending on the concept of the car and the region where the vehicle is sold.

S-LEC™ Solar Control Film has three IR absorbing interlayer types and additional custom options. These can be combined with any glass type to realize the best solar performance fully.

Application for Automotive Glazing

By combining various solutions, S-LEC™ Solar Control Film can be applied not only to an IR glass windshield but to all automotive glass, such as side windows, roof glazing, and rear windows, improving the solar control performance of the entire vehicle and cabin comfort.

Application for Electric Vehicles

The exterior design of electric vehicles (EV) is increasingly designed to look like one large integrated glass panel, including the windshield, roof glass, and rear window. This allows more sunlight to enter the interior. It is important to manage the heat entering the vehicle – not only for the comfort of the driver and passengers – but especially because this influences the driving range of the vehicle indirectly when people make use of the air conditioning more often.

In addition, improving the solar control functionality of the glass keeps electric vehicles cooler and improves the driving range.

Solar Grades

The required solar control performance varies depending on the vehicle concept or regional market needs.

The IR absorbing interlayer, S-LEC™ Solar Control Film offers three types of solar grades; L, AN02, AN01, and custom options to suit various requirements or glass combinations for automotive and glass engineers. We strive for optimal solar control performance for any vehicle, from small to luxury ones.

EM Transmittance

S-LEC™ films allow most radio frequency bands to pass freely, unlike traditional heat-reflective glass with a metallic coating. Our films enable drivers and passengers to remain connected at all times. These technologies also allow the convenient use of electronic toll devices without interference by transmitting electromagnetic waves.

Combinations with Solar

We offer the following combinations of multiple functions into one film:

  • Panoramic Rooflite
  • Design
  • Head-up Display
  • Sound
Panoramic Rooflite Panoramic Rooflite

A panoramic fixed glass roof with sunshade is an environmentally friendly form of automotive glass that uses fewer parts and gives the driver and passengers more headroom than a conventional roof.

The panoramic roof allows you to enjoy the weather while driving by illuminating the interior of the car. Panoramic glass needs to have low haze, thermal insulation for comfort and, as the size of the glass increases, acoustic performance to reduce external noise. In addition to sound reduction and solar control, SEKISUI S-LEC solutions offer a wide range of colour and gradient options to achieve a variety of aesthetics and improved performance for panoramic roofs.

Design Design

The automotive exterior is one of the first things consumers see. Out of the exterior, almost 30% is covered by glass and the market trend is showing that this number is increasing.

S-LEC™ PVB interlayer film for automotive laminated glass provides a variety of colours such as neutral grey can be used on windshields or a wide variety of dark colours privacy grey and gradients which support to harmonization of the entire car exterior and interior design. There are also several natural hue options to match different car concepts.

Head-up Display Head-up Display

Driving safety is one of the most important factors for car manufacturers and drivers. An automotive head-up display (HUD) allows you to keep your eyes on the road and contributes to safer driving. Many vehicles today use HUDs because consumers prefer the wide projection and good visibility for navigation or safety warnings.

Standard windshields cause the projector images to appear as double images due to light refraction, reducing visibility. S-LEC™ Wedge Shaped Film enables real time images to be projected clearly by controlling light refraction and is optimized for all types of HUDs, such as dual-pane HUD or Augmented Reality (AR) HUD.

Sound Sound

S-LEC™ Sound Acoustic Film can be used to block outside noise from the outside world such as traffic, wind, and other disturbing sounds to tune out distractions for the driver and passengers to create a peaceful, quiet driving experience.  S-LEC™ Sound Acoustic Film can also help you get the most out of the music that you play in the vehicle.

You can combine acoustic quality with other functions or designs, such as solar protection or privacy colours, by incorporating soundproof film and other technologies into the laminated glass.

Our Services for your development

We offer you our flexible services in customization. Include our consultancy team in the design phase of your project. This way, we can offer you our assistance in developing a tailor-made solution that suits your aesthetic, insulation, and automotive requirements.

With our global operation, there is always an opportunity to collaborate with you. Also, we like to invest in product innovation. We invite you to contact us if you have specific needs for your automotive project. Let us know how we can meet the demands of future vehicles.

If you would like to know more about any of the S-LEC™ PVB interlayer films for laminated glass, please download our extensive Automotive brochures or feel free to contact us.