When the days start to get warmer like these days, it quickly turns into an oven inside the car. This is because the heat from the sun that penetrates through the windows from the outside rapidly raises the indoor temperature. The soaring internal temperature can be caught primarily through window tinting. This is because tinting reduces heat by blocking sunlight such as infrared and ultraviolet rays. Recently, the importance of tinting is being emphasized more and more as the sales of electric vehicles increase. It is known that operating the air conditioner to cool the inside of the car will result in a reduction in mileage. Car tinting is now an essential consideration that directly affects energy efficiency as well as thermal insulation and privacy.
In today’s automotive window tinting realm, consumers do not have certain professional knowledge, it is difficult to distinguish which kind of car film is suitable for them. So what is the difference between nano-ceramic film and metal insulation film?
Before that, we briefly describe the basic principles of the “nano-ceramic film” and “metalized film”.
Metalized film:
At present, most of the domestic high-end products are based on magnetron sputtering metal film, which has a very high market share. After the emergence of magnetron sputtering technology, advanced aerospace alloy materials such as nickel, silver, titanium, and gold were used, and metal particles were sputtered on the high-tension PET matrix at high speed and force using the principles of electric and magnetic fields. It has the characteristics of high definition, high heat insulation, and no dyeing. However, the inherent defects of the metal film, such as easy oxidation, shielding GPS signals, high reflection and etc make it impossible to become a perfect product in the true sense.
Nano-ceramic film:
Nano-ceramic insulation film is a ceramic insulation film formed by using titanium nitride ceramic material to form a nano-level ceramic layer on a polyester film using vacuum sputtering technology. Known for its outstanding performance of long-lasting and high thermal insulation, because nano-ceramic materials will not gradually oxidize and fade over time, the thermal insulation performance is more stable and lasting, and the product performance is superior. Without affecting the penetration of visible light, it can block 98% of infrared rays and more than 99% of ultraviolet rays. The nano-ceramic film, because of its heat insulation principle is absorption rather than reflection, can ensure that the original GPS and mobile phone signals in the car are not blocked. Objectively speaking, the overall performance of the ceramic film is very good, and it is very different from the principle of “magnetron metal film”, which belongs to a new generation of products.
Nano-ceramic film advantages
Better heat dissipation
The nano-ceramic film is the application of nanotechnology to evenly sputter high-temperature and extremely stable ceramic materials onto high-tension PET substrates. It absorbs and exchanges heat, so when the vehicle moves, it has a more advantageous heat dissipation effect.
Low reflection
Metalized film is insulated by reflecting light, so it tends to reflect the scene in the car, causing the owner’s line of sight to be blocked when driving. The ceramic film utilizes the heat absorption method, so the reflection is lower, making the driving experience more comfortable and safe.
Zero signal interference
To achieve a certain heat insulation effect, the metalized film must adopt a multi-layer film structure and lots of metal particles resulting in a large amount of signal reflection. The ceramic film has no metal coating, even if the window is closed, it won’t affect the GPS and telecommunication signals, realizing zero signal interference.
Durability
Magnetron sputtering metal heat insulation film is formed by sputtering multiple coatings of precious metals (silver, indium oxide, gold) through a magnetron sputtering process. Because silver, a very easily oxidized metal, is sputtered to reflect heat energy, although the heat insulation performance has improved, oxidation has become the biggest defect. Generally, it can only last for 2 to 4 years at most, depending on the climate. The nano-ceramic film uses a unique and durable composite ceramic structure that will not oxidize and will never fade or change color. Easily reach a shelf life of 10 years or more.
Price-performance ratio
When car owners select car film products, they often see relatively low-priced metal films. Although ordinary single-layer metal films are cheaper, they have average heat insulation performance and reflect heat. The effect is not as good as everyone thinks. To achieve the thermal insulation performance equivalent to that of the nano-ceramic thermal insulation film, a magnetron sputtering machine is needed to complete the magnetron sputtering technology so that nano-level adhesion can be achieved, but this equipment requires at least hundreds of millions of investment. So this is the reason why the real magnetron sputtering metal film is relatively expensive. Based on the difference between the shelf life of about 5 years and more than 10 years, it is very obvious that the cost performance of the nano-ceramic film is far better than that of metalized film.
Harmful Substances protection
Some inferior or low-quality metal films on the market have high benzene content in the residual solvent of the adhesive layer, especially after exposure to the sun, they will volatilize harmful substances such as formaldehyde and benzene, which are not only harmful to cars but also very harmful to health. The ceramic film does not have to worry about this kind of problem. Its composition does not contain dyes and metals, and there is no need to worry about harmful substances.
Conclusion
After decades of development, although the metal film has good performance, the inherent defects of the metal film, such as easy oxidation, shielding GPS signals, high reflection, etc., make it not a perfect product in the true sense. The overall performance and cost of nano-ceramic films are better, and they are the mainstream of automotive window films products in the future.
