Solar Reflecting Film

The Center for the Built Environment (CBE) at UC Berkeley has developed a sophisticated thermal comfort capable of modeling non-uniform, transient conditions. This model has been used to study occupant comfort in buildings and automobiles. 3M is interested in analyzing the impacts of 3M Solar Reflecting Film (SRF) on automobile occupant comfort. SRF has unique properties that reduce transmitted solar heat gain and lower the glass surface temperature. CBE will develop a model that predicts the behavior of SRF and incorporate that model into its automotive thermal comfort model. CBE will then compare the performance of a vehicle with SRF to a vehicle with standard glass. The comparison will include air and surface temperatures within the vehicle, the length of time it takes for an occupant to reach comfort after entering a car that has been soaking in the sun, and thermal comfort ratings for the driver and passenger during typical driving scenarios. Future work may include developing a simulation tool for 3M to use in evaluating the new products.