Artificial turf is a popular landscaping material because it offers the aesthetics and even the feel of a real lawn but with almost no maintenance required. You don’t have to cut it, water it, or fertilize it, and it looks great in the middle of the summer or in the cooler winter months. One major drawback with turf lawns is that unlike with natural grass, they won’t grow back if they get damaged. And damaged turf is becoming an ever more common issue as more residences install low-e windows, leading to instances of window reflection melting artificial turf frequently, especially in a place like Orlando, where there is no shortage of bright, sunny days.
How Can Windows Melt Artificial Grass?
Window reflections melt turf grass due to the concentrated hotspots the reflected light can create. Low-e energy efficient windows are designed to reject maximum solar heat. They achieve their low emissivity rating due to a highly reflective exterior coating and through the use of a double paned design. With many double paned windows, the exterior pane will become sightly concave as it is drawn inward by the vacuum seal between the two layers of glass, and this creates a lens-like effect that further enhances the intensity of the sunlight the windowpane reflects. Window reflections can create hotspots that reach temperatures in excess of 220 degrees Fahrenheit, so despite the relatively high melting point of most artificial turf, which can endure temperatures up to approximately 200 degrees, sunlight reflecting off window melts turf with ease if left unchecked.
When all that reflected, concentrated sunlight bounces onto artificial grass it can easily melt the turf, leaving your property plagued with large patches of ruined fake grass that look unappealing and that will feel hard and unpleasant under your feet (or under a pet’s paws). And when even a smaller patch of turf is melted by window reflections, often large swaths of the turf have to be replaced in order to restore the pleasing appearance of the lawn.
How to Stop Sun Reflections Melting Grass in Orlando
To stop the sunlight bouncing off low-e windows onto artificial grass from melting the turf, you have a few options. First, you can rip out all that turf and replace it with natural grass, but you’ll then have to water, fertilize, and mow the lawn. Second, you can replace your energy efficient windows with less reflective, less effective windows, but then your home will be warmer and your cooling costs will skyrocket. So how about you work with the turf and the windows you have and instead mitigate the problem quickly and easily with a product designed expressly to solve this issue?
Turf Guard Window Film was developed expressly to deal with the issue of window reflections causing property damage, and it is the easiest, most affordable solution to the problem, and the one that causes the lowest impact to your property, too. This anti reflective window covering prevents the sun reflections from causing hot spots by scattering bounced sunlight in countless random directions instead of letting it create a focused beam that leads to a hotspot.
Does Anti Glare Window Film Affect How Windows Work?
Anti glare film features thousands of minute perforations spread across its surface and is fabricated from a largely translucent material. That means your windows will still allow in plenty of visible light and that your view out through windows coated with anti reflective window film is still crisp and clear; these films only affect the view about as much as an insect screen would. But in terms of reflected light, the window will perform totally differently. You will see the bright spots of light that were being created on your lawn as light bounced off the windows disappear just as soon as the Turf Guard Window Film is in place.
Turf Guard Window Film comes in clear, white, gray, and black varieties. Most homeowners choose clear film to stop window reflections, as this option does not change the way the exterior of the property looks. However many people love the look of a new shade of color added to their windows and opt for one of the other three options. You can also customize a plan for your home, using black anti glare window film for lower level windows and also adding extra privacy with this unique product acting as a window tint.
How Do You Install Anti Glare Window Film?
If you want to protect the turf grass against melting at your Orlando home, you can handle entire process of installing anti glare window film yourself or you can hire an installer to make the job truly effortless. But as the film comes backed with adhesive and can be easily trimmed to fit any window of any shape and size, DIY installation is certainly feasible.
You can read about anti reflective window film installation here.
