Natural light is beautiful, but behind its golden locks lies a story of irreversible destruction due to fading from the sun. What I am about to tell you is a story of photons, light beams, acid attacks, heat, and humidity causing chemical and physical damage to your workplace, home, and possessions.
The damage is irreversible and manifests itself as fading, yellowing, darkening, and even disintegration of materials. Heat, relative humidity (RH for short), light, and pollutants are the Agents of Deterioration.
The aim is to block these Agents of Deterioration before they can damage any of the items you care about.
I phoned my brother and founder of WindowTreat, and 3 hours later Andy and Chris installed 3M Thinsulate Climate Control 75 on all my windows to save the precious floors from the Agents of Deterioration.
From the moment an object is created it starts to deteriorate.
Ultraviolet radiation is the most well-known villain in the story. Its high energy can change complex molecular structures by breaking the bonds between atoms. Unbeknown to the human eye a photon is released. A double bond between two atoms becomes one and here endeth the chemistry lesson before I embarrass myself. Light is scattered differently on the material, which will eventually appear bleached or faded. Hint – window film and our FeelSafe Glazing reject virtually all ultraviolet light.
The surface temperatures of dark insulating materials exposed to direct sunlight, such as dark wood, textiles, and plastics can quickly reach 40°C above the ambient air temperature. The rate of deterioration can increase by several hundred-fold if the item is routinely hit by a sunbeam. Window films that reject the radiant heat from the sun and transmit virtually all the natural light are the perfect, invisible friend for your home or workplace.
High temperatures can cause evaporation of moisture from objects and that can, in turn, result in deformation or cracking. When the surface cools, it reabsorbs moisture and the fluctuating relative humidity (RH) cycle continues. Again, controlling very rapid changes in surface temperature will help enormously.
Unnecessary visible light fades or darkens the outer layer of paints and wood. Hint – automated blackout blinds will make life easy to protect your possessions when you are not occupying the room and embracing the light when you are present.
Contaminants such as grease from human hands, dust, and pollution in towns and cities cause abrasion and acidic coatings to damage surfaces.
Physical deterioration and chemical deterioration are interrelated. For example, chemical changes in textiles caused by interactions with light also weaken the fabric so that physical damage such as rips and tears may occur.
So in short, if you want to keep your home or work environment looking newer for longer or if you wish to protect an investment, like my wooden floors, then consider some superhero products like one of our clever window films, intelligent blinds, or FeelSafe Glazing.
