UV filters and Sun damage protection
What causes fading?
The sun’s energy can be harsh. It can cause your furniture and soft furnishings to fade and damage. And it’s not just about the UV or Ultraviolet light. And NZ has some of the highest Ultra Violet levels in the world.
The three major causes of solar damage to your home and furnishings are:
- Ultra-violet light (approx. 40%)
- Infra-red light (approx. 25%)
- Visible light (approx. 25%)
The remaining 10% of damage is caused by other environmental factors such as the fastness or quality of the dye, the age of the fabric, chemical vapours and cleaning products.
While many of these environmental factors are out of your control, you can ensure your possessions remain in the best possible condition by shielding them from the sun with a suitable fade protection film on your windows.
Most people don’t know if their existing glass is blocking UV. For this reason, we provide a free UV glass analysis service, and all films we install include 99% UV filtering.
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Ever moved furniture and found this? This damage is unrepairable even though the carpet is only 2 years old!
Real Sun Damage not just UV – Suntamers NZ
Ultra-violet damage
Ultra-violet (UV) damage poses both short-term and long-term effects on various materials.
In the short term, UV rays can bleach natural materials like cotton, wool, leather, and wood, often resulting in photos or prints fading to a blue or green hue when exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods.
Over the long term, UV rays damage fabric fibers, making them brittle and prone to tearing and crushing. This degradation is observable in items such as net curtains, drape backings, and carpeting near ranch sliders. Materials like wood and leather can also suffer irreversible damage, as they may dry out, crack, and bleach.
At Suntamers, all our window films are equipped with filters that block over 99% of UV light, meeting industry standards across our range from crystal clear safety films to sandblast and mirrored films. However, since UV light isn’t the sole contributor to solar damage, effective protection against fading requires filtering infrared and visible light as well. By addressing all three factors, it’s possible to reduce fading by nearly 70%.
Damage to wood furniture, joinery and floors is often the suns heat not just the UV – Suntamers.
Many of the rooms we see which have a problem with fading also have a problem with heat and glare due to the amount of direct sunlight the room receives during the day. With the large range of window films available, heat and glare problems can be addressed at no additional cost.
Furniture showroom with Solar Gard ST70 installed – Suntamers
There are many products that can block UV light from Solar control films to sheer curtains and liquid products. Solar control window films are not sacrificial like sheers or bond into the glass such as UVTec. We have been asked many times to remove UVTec when it has failed but are unwilling to use the toxic highly alkaline solution required in it’s removal.
