What has UV protection?

[Ritium]

Hi,

Recently ordered my X and trying to be ready with a tint solution. From what I can tell, the windshield is the only window with UV protection. Is that true?

Thx

 

[kazkioken]

My local service center said "all windows in the Model X have UV protection". I put ceramic film on the front 2 windows regardless to get some heat out of them in sunlight.

 

[alseTrick]

My local service center said "all windows in the Model X have UV protection". I put ceramic film on the front 2 windows regardless to get some heat out of them in sunlight.

My understanding is:

That's correct. But only the darkened glass segments offer increased levels of visible light and infrared reduction.

 

[scottf200]

My local service center said "all windows in the Model X have UV protection". I put ceramic film on the front 2 windows regardless to get some heat out of them in sunlight.

All windows may have some level of protection but I don't thin the front driver/passenger side have any more than standard cars which is like 65%. Have been other threads on this. I also added tint to my front windows after I got the X.

Below via quick google search: Not All Car Windows Protect Against UV Rays

By law, windshields must be made of laminated glass, which means they're formed from three parts: two 2.1-millimeter layers of glass separated by an 0.8-millimeter piece of stretchy plastic. The glass is made to break easily if something - the driver's head, for example, or a deer - comes in contact with it. The plastic then stretches to absorb that impact.

The layer of plastic helps windshields absorb nearly all of the sun's ultraviolet rays. Plastic is naturally good at absorbing UV rays, Dishart says, and can be made with extra UV absorbers to protect even more. He says windshields absorb 100 percent of UVB rays, which cause sunburn, and around 98 percent of UVA rays, which don't cause sunburn but can do long-term damage to the skin.

That gives windshields a sun protection factor - or SPF - of 50 or more, the equivalent of some of the strongest sunscreens, Dishart said.

Sunroofs, too, often contain UV-absorbing technology that can block around 90 percent of UV rays. That's partly to keep the car cool as well as protect occupants from sun exposure.

But side and rear windows are a different story, and their SPF can vary a lot depending on the vehicle.

Side windows are usually made from cheaper tempered glass, which is around 4 millimeters thick and doesn't include a layer of plastic. Tempered glass is designed to shatter into tiny pieces, to protect the occupants in a crash. But unless they're tinted for privacy, side windows usually absorb only 65 percent of UV rays. That gives them an SPF of around 16, Dishart says, the same as some of the lowest grades of sunscreen.

That may be all right for people who don't do a lot of driving. But several studies indicate a link between skin cancer and sun exposure while driving, especially for truck drivers or those with long commutes.

 

[tomtx37]

My local service center said "all windows in the Model X have UV protection". I put ceramic film on the front 2 windows regardless to get some heat out of them in sunlight.

Which ceramic film did you use to tint your front 2 windows?

 

[Texas]

I have 99% UV protection in both the fixed and the sliding parts of the panoramic roof and in the glass of the liftgate of my May 2015 Model S. I can report this with certainty because I crawled up on the car and read the imprint on each of these three parts of glass. The operative word printed on each one is "LAMISAFE," which I found is a brand name of a Japanese company, AGC. Wikipedia reports that AGC is the largest glass company in the world and a core Mitsubishi company. Lamisafe is a widely-used laminated safety glass that filters out 99% of all UV rays, for which It has been awarded the Seal of Recommendation of The Skin Cancer Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit healthcare organization.

I don't know if all Teslas use Lamisafe glass in their roofs and liftgates, but I'll bet they do. Not only does Lamisafe repel almost all UV rays, it also prevents sunroof "explosions" that are becoming the subject of controversy recently in cars that use tempered rather than laminated glass roofs.

Windshields in all cars are required to use laminated glass for safety reasons, but for side windows (Tesla included) and roof glass most companies use tempered glass, which is strong and shatters into small fragments,when broken. Tesla is one of the few companies that has taken a more safety-oriented course by using laminated glass sunroofs.

My Tesla has TEMPERLITE tempered glass side windows, as marked on the glass, which is also made by AGC. I don't have any information about UV blocking in this glass, although UV shielding is available.

I don't have any similar information about heat filtering, other than the observation that my Model S doesn't get any hotter here in Houston than my other cars have in the summer--that is to say, very hot even if I crack the windows and the sunroof and unbearable if I leave the interior sealed.

 

[khalkhin]

S owner here. I did lots of research into this when getting my windows tinted. I can confirm that Lamisafe is laminated glass and will block out UV. Laminated glass has a plastic layer that makes it both safer from a crash standpoint and a UV standpoint.

Temperlite is tempered glass, without any plastic layer, and does not block out UV. Auto manufacturers continue to use it because they can save a few bucks - I think the difference is literally about $5 per window. Unfortunately, the S, like most cars, has it on the sides, but Tesla got smart and did not use it on the X.

In my opinion it is well worth it to spend the money to get some tinting done if you have tempered glass in your (non Model X) car. Skin cancer rates on the left side are significantly higher than the right, just because people are getting UV through their auto glass while driving. You can easily find a tint that is barely noticeable and will block over 99% of the UV, plus reject 50% of incoming heat. I'd be happy to recommend a great installer if you live in Southern California.