The benefits of natural light in commercial and office structures include solutions such improving the energy efficiency of a building and scale positive effects like increasing employee productivity. However, sunlight can easily become a nuisance depending on how strong the rays are, and what position the sun is in the sky. Global conglomerate 3M came up with a solution for allowing natural light indoors while providing protection from the negative aspects of direct light in 2014 when it released the 3M Daylight Redirecting Film, an adhesive layer that can be installed onto the top half of existing or new windows. This year, the company debuted an updated and second-generation version of its film.
3M Daylight Redirecting Film helps manage the amount of sunlight that enters through windows, thus eliminating glare, reducing solar heat gain, and preventing fading of furnishings and other surfaces. The 2014 film only incorporated daylight redirecting technology, and had to be installed with a separate second film on an additional lite of glass 0.12 inches away from the window to utilize the company's diffusing technology.
The update film eliminates both the two-step application process and the separate layer of glass. Now the film comprises both the daylight redirecting technology as well as a built-in diffuser. Micro-structured prisms in the film allow sunlight in but redirect as much as 80 percent of the rays upwards while letting light extend as far as 40 feet into the building.
Watch the videos below to see the 3M Daylight Redirecting Film in action:
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