Term

Definition
ANSI
 The American National Standards Institute – a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States.
ASHRAE
 American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers
Building Envelope
 A building envelope is the separation between the interior and the exterior environments of a building. It serves as the outer shell to protect the indoor environment as well as to facilitate its climate control. The physical components of the envelope include the foundation, roof, walls, doors and windows.
CBTD
 Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction created to reduce the initial cost of investing in energy-efficient building systems via an approved accelerated tax deduction.
Ceramic
 An inorganic, nonmetallic film.
Color – Gold/Bronze
 Films with positive b*; actual appearance varies along L* depending on whether the neutral colored film is light or dark. (see L*a*b* Color Space)
Color – Neutral/Grey
 Films with very small values for a* and b*; actual appearance varies along L* depending on whether the neutral colored film is light or dark. (see L*a*b* Color Space)
CPSC
 The Consumer Products Safety Commission – an independent agency of the U.S. government created to protect against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products.
Daylight Harvesting
 The term used for a system that reduces the use of artificial lighting with electric lamps in building interiors when natural daylight is available, in order to reduce energy consumption.
DOE
 U.S. Department of Energy
Dual Reflective
 A film that has as a difference in reflectivity between the two film sides (outside versus inside).
ECSC
 Energy Cost Savings Council – a group of electrical industry advocates educating American executives about the financial wisdom of energy efficient electrical upgrades.
Emissivity (E)
 The measurement of a film’s ability to reradiate absorbed energy. A lower “E” value will be more efficient and maintaining heat generated inside a space.
Energy Modeling
 Computer simulations of building energy performance before and after addition(s) of energy efficiency improvements.
EPA
 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPAct 2005
 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy problems, changed US energy policy by providing tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types.
Glare Reduction
 Reduction in visible light transmission after installing film compared to the visible light transmission of glass with no film.
HVAC
 The closely related functions of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning- the technology of indoor environmental comfort and air quality.
Infrared
 Many organizations delineate “near” infrared and “far” infrared as 780-2,500 nm and >2,500 nm respectively. Near infrared-blocking capabilities are important for reducing solar heat gain whereas far infrared-blocking capabilities are important for improving emissivity.
Insulated Glass Unit (IGU) Seal Failure
 Windows manufactured of two or more pieces of glass with a sealed airspace typically have desiccant to keep moisture out of the airspace. When the seal is broken, moisture can build up between the panes.
IRB 2006-52
 IRB 2006-52 sets forth interim guidance, pending the issuance of regulations, relating to the deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings under § 179D of the Internal Revenue Code.
IWFA
 The International Window Film Association has an industry mission of increasing consumer awareness and demand for all types of professionally-installed window film products.
L*a*b* Color Space
 A precise 3-dimensional color system where L* is a “z” axis measure of “lightness”; a* and b* are the “x” and “y” axis measures. L* ranges from 0 (black) to 100 (white); a* ranges from negative (green) to positive (red); b* ranges from negative (blue) to positive (yellow).
Light-to-Solar Gain
 The ratio of visible light transmission to solar heat gain coefficient.
Luminous Efficacy
 The ratio of visible light transmission to shading coefficient. Luminous efficacy greater than 1.0 is defined to be “spectrally selective”.
NFRC
 A nonprofit, public/private organization created by the window, door, and skylight industry that has developed a window rating system.
Partially Qualifying Property
 A property that meets the required 16 2/3% energy and power cost savings and qualifies for up to $0.60/ft2 tax deduction.
Power / Peak
 Power (or Peak Power) is a point-in-time measurement of a device, system, or building power need – measured typically in kilowatts (kW).
Proposed Building
 In EPAct scenarios, a computer simulation model that is identical to the Reference Building model except for the systems that are qualifying for the tax deduction. The systems qualifying for the tax deduction shall match the systems in the Taxpayer’s Building. This model may not represent the Taxpayer’s Building exactly for partially qualifying properties.
Radio Frequency (RF) Interference
 The tendency of a film to interfere with radio frequencies (whether desired in the case of stopping electronic eavesdropping or undesired in the case of causing GPS or Tire Pressure Monitor malfunction) is an important consideration.
Reference Building
 In EPAct scenarios, a computer simulation model that matches the Taxpayer’s Building except that the interior lighting systems, HVAC, SHW, and building envelope comply with the minimum requirements of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001.
Shading Coefficient
 The ratio of solar heat gain through a given glazing system to the solar heat gain of clear glass. (similar to Solar Heat Gain Coefficient). Lower is better when heat rejection is an important consideration.
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient
 The ratio of solar heat gain through a given glazing system to the solar heat gain of clear glass. (similar to Shading Coefficient). Lower is better when heat rejection is an important consideration.
Taxpayer’s Building
 In EPAct scenarios, the physical building used for the tax deduction.
Total Solar Energy Absorbed
 Percentage of total solar energy absorbed by a glazing system. Glass breakage due to application of window film is typically rare but solar absorption, poor film choice, and uneven glass thermal expansion would contribute to potential for breakage.
Total Solar Energy Rejected
 Percentage of total solar energy (heat) rejected by a glazing system. Higher is better when heat rejection is an important consideration.
U-Factor
 The measure of tendency for conductive heat transfer – window films in general have very little effect on U-Factor.
Ultraviolet Rejected
 Percentage of total ultraviolet (UV) radiation that is prevented from passing through a glazing system.
Visible Light Reflected Exterior
 Percentage of total visible light reflected by a glazing system to the outside.
Visible Light Reflected Interior
 Percentage of total visible light reflected by a glazing system to the inside.
Visible Light Transmitted
 Percentage of total visible light passing through a glazing system. Higher visible light transmission is important when trying to keep the appearance of the glass the same after film installation. Lower visible light transmission is important when glare reduction and daylight harvesting is important.