Window Film and Hurricane Preparedness in Hawaii

Introduction

Many individuals like the island lifestyle, the weather, breathtaking beaches, tropical landscapes, and a slow, peaceful life unlike in the city. This unique blend challenges those living in such places, specifically Hawaii. Although the weather is year-round sunny and bright, it also comes with the reality of extreme weather conditions, especially hurricanes. While natural discrepancies like hurricanes cannot be avoided, they can take safety measures and steps to safeguard their homes. One highly effective yet often overlooked measure is window tinting. There are many benefits, as this solution offers more than just aesthetic appeal or ultraviolet protection. It’s significantly known that it can also significantly reduce the damage caused by hurricanes, particularly when it comes to preventing glass from shattering.

In this article, we detail how window tinting in Honolulu can help homeowners prepare for hurricanes and the various benefits it offers in protecting homes during severe weather events.

The Importance of Hurricane Preparedness in Hawaii

It cannot be emphasized enough that Hurricanes are a serious concern for homeowners in Hawaii, especially during the rain and stormy hurricane season, which typically runs from June through November. The increase of the strong winds and downpours of rain cause flying bits and pieces of debris. It’s no secret that hurricanes can cause extensive property damage to even just a yard or front porch. Speaking of windows, one of the most vulnerable parts of any home is its windows.
The breakage of windows is dangerous, to begin with, due to glass shattering with the possibility of getting hurt. When high-speed winds and debris hit unprotected windows, it can cause serious damage inside the home. Furthermore, it gives an inn to the inside of the home, exposing it to further damage from wind, rain, and even intruders. That can cause break-ins, theft, or worse damage. There are preventative measures that can be taken, such as hurricane shutters and impact-resistant windows, which are commonly used to mitigate these risks, but they can be costly. Window film is not an alternative to either of those, but in its safety grades it does add a layer of protection to the glass itself.

How Window Tinting Helps in Hurricane Preparedness

Window tinting is much more than a cosmetic upgrade. It provides essential protection for your home’s windows, acting as a safety measure during hurricanes. Here are the primary ways window tinting in Hawaii can help safeguard your property:

Shatter Resistance

This is the claim most often overstated, so it is worth being exact. During a hurricane, windows are at risk of breaking due to flying bits and pieces of debris and strong winds. When a window breaks, shattered glass can cause injuries and leave your home vulnerable to the elements.
The films that hold broken glass together are safety and security films — a separate, much thicker product, typically 4 to 15 mil, and in some installations anchored to the frame as well as bonded to the glass. An ordinary solar-control or ceramic film is thin and is made to control heat, glare and UV: it is not a glass-retention product and should not be bought as one. If glass retention is what you want, ask for safety film by name.

Added Strength to Windows

While window tinting cannot make your windows completely hurricane-proof, it does add a layer of strength. The film increases the overall durability of the glass, making it more difficult for debris to penetrate. When installed professionally, window tinting provides an extra barrier between your home and the elements.

For homeowners in Hawaii, where hurricane preparedness is a must, adding a layer of window tint is an easy, cost-effective way to bolster your windows’ durability. This extra strength can be especially crucial in older homes or buildings that may not have been built with modern hurricane-resistant materials.

UV and Heat Protection

In addition to hurricane protection, window tinting in Honolulu offers year-round benefits. Hawaii’s tropical climate means plenty of sun, but this also comes with harmful UV rays that can damage furniture, flooring, and other interior items. Window tinting blocks up to 99% of Ultraviolet rays, they help a great deal to protect your home.
Tinting also reduces the heat entering your home and lowers energy costs leading to lower electricity bills, and cooling without over-relying on air conditioning. For homeowners in Hawaii, this is a bonus, as energy costs are exceptionally high, especially during the hot summer months.

Where Window Film Fits

Window film is not a substitute for impact-resistant glazing or storm shutters and should not be priced against them: those are engineered to keep debris out of the opening, and where a building has to meet a windborne-debris requirement, film does not take their place. What film does is retain broken glass, in its safety grades, and cut heat, glare and UV all year round — a long-term return on a one-time cost, but a different one.

If you are working through a list, safety film on the most exposed glass is a sensible item on it. It is not the whole list.

The Most Effective Forms of Windows Tinting for Hurricanes

It’s important to know that not all those window films are the same, and if you are discussing window tinting in Hawaii with a specific focus on using it as hurricane protection, you’ll want to get the right type. Here are some options to consider:

Safety and Security Films: These are thicker than the more common decorative films and are intended for use where shattered glass needs to be retained. During disasters, especially hurricanes, they offer very good barriers because the glass does not shatter. 

Ceramic Films: While they are mostly popular for their high scratch and UV protection standards, ceramic films control heat, glare and UV — they are not glass-retention films. If you want both, a ceramic film can be specified alongside a safety film rather than in place of one.

Clear Safety Films: If you want your windows to blend in with your home’s exterior but want your windows to be protected in some way, using clear safety films would suffice. You can hardly even see them, and they will not change the look of your windows at all, giving you the shatter resistance you require.

Choosing the Right Installer

When doing window tinting in Honolulu, one must hire a professional who can work with the hurricane’s challenges. The low quality of the film greatly decreases its performance, and that’s why it is necessary to use the services of the company, which has experience in the installation of films for both private and commercial properties, including windows.
Mention the companies with good products and always ensure that you have installers who have the best track record. Also, make sure that the films they use are approved to meet safety and security concerns since not all films provide the same security measures.

Here are more tips homeowners must know and follow every hurricane season:

Although tinting windows helps in hurricane protection, taking more measures will be essential when it comes to protecting your home. Here are some other measures homeowners in Hawaii can take to safeguard their property:

Install Storm Shutters: Other than window tinting, the best bet against nature is storm shutters. These offer thorough protection against flying debris. Such shutters can be folded down during a storm in order to cover the entire window.

Reinforce Doors: As with the windows, doors are also not safe during a hurricane, and they can be damaged. All the doors, including garage ones, must be properly reinforced in order to allow them to withstand the forces that come with the high-speed wind.

Secure Outdoor Items: Anything that is left outdoors is likely to become a projectile in the event of a hurricane. Tie outside furniture, barbeques, and anything else that could be
affected by the storm to avoid additional effects.

Stock Emergency Supplies: Form a hurricane kit with bottled water, food that will not spoil, batteries and flashlights, and first aid kits. Make sure you stock enough for your family to survive for several days.

Conclusion

Hurricanes are real for homeowners in Hawaii, and thus, they need to be prepared for them. No single measure protects a home from a hurricane, and window film is not the primary one — storm shutters and impact-resistant glazing are. What film adds is still worth having: in its safety grades it holds broken glass together, and in every grade it cuts the heat, glare and UV that Hawaii’s sun puts through your windows all year. Ace Glass Tinting fits both, on residential and commercial buildings.
Do not wing it and wait for the next hurricane alert to act. Incorporating window tinting as one of the measures among all the hurricane safety strategies you intend to take is adaptive, and you enjoy the enhanced security of your house against storm surges.