Anyone concerned about the sunlight and heat build up under the large windshield surface?

[HaulingAss]

It's uneccessary to add further tint to a Tesla to reduce solar heat gain. The darkness of the tint does not indicate the amount of solar gain the glass will have because the vast majority of solar gain happens in the non-visible spectrum and Teslas' already come with some of the most advanced infrared rejecting coatings available. Making the glass darker only reduces the solar gain by an insignificant amount when you already have heat rejecting coatings this good.

We have three 2018 Model 3, the most recent one was bought on the used market and the previous owner was from California and had the windows tinted as dark as State law allowed. There is no noticeable temperature difference when the two cars are parked in the sun closed up tight. Dark tint does not equal cooler interior temperatures unless the car comes from the factory without heat rejecting coatings (which is the case for the vast majority of cars sold in the US). Tesla knows that solar heat gain leads to reduced real-world summer range so they equip all their cars with excellent heat rejection.

All cars get hot in the summer sun, but the huge glass expanse of the Model 3 might actually make it slightly cooler than comparable cars with metal roofs due to superior heat rejection coatings. Adding additional tint/solar films offers minimal improvement.

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[PilotPete]

I don't know if 100% tinting is even allowed in California.

It’s not legal in CA, I would doubt any other state for that matter. (At least on the front). If I recall, CA allows tinting of windows wholly behind the driver, as long as there are two side mirrors. Although it has been a few years since I got that ticket.

 

[CyberC]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Model X yet. The windshield is as big, if not bigger, than what we're seeing with the CT.

This question is almost 8 years old at this point, and the answer has always been ceramic tint, 75%.

 

[Crimson_Fate]

I had to put a shade in my MY since it gets incredibly hot in there in florida and it does take away from the car while toy are driving it .

I would like to see the electrochromic tint like they have in the IDBUZZ for the roof.

 

[SolarWizard]

It’s not legal in CA, I would doubt any other state for that matter. (At least on the front). If I recall, CA allows tinting of windows wholly behind the driver, as long as there are two side mirrors. Although it has been a few years since I got that ticket.

its legal in Florida with a dr’s recommendation
every personal vehicle I’ve own has had 50% or 70% VLT on the windshield since day and even in CA I’ve never had any issues

ceramic tint (I trust Llumar) makes an enormous difference in heat and blocks 99% of uva/uvb transmission. Whoever said it doesn’t help a Tesla is not comparing a ceramic tint to stock, just a standard dyed film. We had a model Y previously. It absolutely helped.

 

[Deleted member 4261]

Is anyone else concerned about the sunlight and heat build up under the large windshield surface area under it? Besides a huge sun reflecting blocker when parked. is there a legal limit on the amount of mirrored reflection a windshield can have built into it?

Not in the slightest, we need all of the solar gain we can get.

 

[Trbizwiz]

I thought the view above in our Model 3 and Model Y were awesome and then on our Denver road trip a grater on the side of the road threw a road that cracked our moon roof and the crack spread across the entire moon roof and it had to be replaced. Not warranty so it cost me $1,200. As a result, I am concerned about the ability of the armor glass to withstand this kind of abuse much more than I am concerned about how much heat enters the cabin.

Probably roughly similar to the cost to do body work to similarly damaged painted metal. The nice thing about glass, is your car still has not had body work with filler.

 

[Tinker71]

Probably roughly similar to the cost to do body work to similarly damaged painted metal. The nice thing about glass, is your car still has not had body work with filler.

I got creamed by a 1.5 inch rock which hit the roof. No real damage. I got hit with a much smaller rock on the front windshield a few days later which gave me a star crack. I had that fixed so it would not spread. It is mostly about the angle of incidence.

 

[HaulingAss]

I had to put a shade in my MY since it gets incredibly hot in there in florida and it does take away from the car while toy are driving it .

I would like to see the electrochromic tint like they have in the IDBUZZ for the roof.

Yes, an interior shade reduces solar heat gain because it reduces convection currents that transfer the roof surface heat to the cabin air. Even the electrochromic tint like you can get with the VW, an interior solar shade will offer significant benefit because the glass surface will still get very hot, probably hotter than the glass Tesla uses on roofs. The electrochromatic tint is not for heat rejection, it's for light rejection. And light carries a very small amount of the total heat energy.

Tesla does what works and is not prone to spend a lot of money on something because customers might think they want it. I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing, but it does make the cars as good as possible at the lowest cost. One example of this is the limited color pallette and the way it reduces production costs and allows Tesla to sell the most cars for the smallest amount of money.

Conversely, Tesla spends a lot of money on high-quality components you can't see and that most new car buyers are not thinking about, because Tesla knows it makes the cars either safer or better in another way (typically more longevity).

As Tesla reaches market share saturation, and sales growth starts to level off, I think we will see Tesla expand the color pallette and various options offered significantly. They will likely continue to put high-quality componentry in the cars, even where it typically goes unnoticed by new car buyers. It's just the way Tesla rolls.

 

[intimidator]

Is anyone else concerned about the sunlight and heat build up under the large windshield surface area under it? Besides a huge sun reflecting blocker when parked. is there a legal limit on the amount of mirrored reflection a windshield can have built into it?

Yes

 

[cvalue13]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Model X yet. The windshield is as big, if not bigger, than what we're seeing with the CT.

On one hand, this seems conjecture that is possibly incongruent with the available information. It is easy to underestimate the size differences in both the overall vehicle, and the windshield design. Here's a photo of a person standing behind a CT windshield - is anyone really willing to bet that the Model X front windshield is larger than this!?

On the other hand, however, the Model X has a rear windshield that likely makes up for overall area of upward-facing glass.

Fact is, the CyberTruck is purported to be using new ""armored" glass, with qualities yet unknown - including exactly it's UVA/B/C and infrared absorption. To say nothing of whether the CT may end up having switchable glass on its roof - as many videos suggest could be the case. If so, one might wonder if this new approach is due to the new glass not being amenable to the lamination Tesla uses in its other roofs?

If we use the current models as example, there are differences in Tesla's treatments of roof panels, vs side windows, vs windshields, vs rear glass. Which means that even in current models, a discussion of UV/infrared absorption has to distinguish between roof panels, front and rear windshields, and all side/door windows.

If anyone can find explicit details from Tesla, would be interested to see them. But the seemingly informed guides I can find online suggest that modern Teslas:

• windshields are already good at blocking most UV (because they are laminated by law), and Tesla does not give their windshield additional UV/infrared treatment
• side windows are typical in Teslas, blocking some but not all UV (nor infrared)
• rear roof panel: does not get special treatment (other than being a died glass/tint)
• roof gets all the UV bells and whistles, but the website no longer describes infrared protection (for whatever that's worth)

absent tesla giving reliable and clear details about the UVA/B/C and infrared quallities of each panel of glass, I'll be coating all of it

AND i'll be making it dark where i can, because (1) i like the interior of my vehicles dark and cozy, and (2) despite claims elsewhere in this thread, any visible wavelength of light (not just infrared) contributes to greenhouse heating within the cabin - and in any event, TEsla gives no information on infrared blocking of even the roof, much less the other glass

 

[Jimo]

There was some discussion about this a year or so ago but about the top/rear window and not the windshield. No one mentioned statutes (at least in the U.S.) at the time. Some wanted that window replaced with stainless. Some wanted it to be removable like the Hummer. Tesla tends to put tinting on the upper portions of the windshield and the entire moon roof window and, depending on your height, any heat should be dissipated by the headroom. The HVAC should be able to maintain a survivable climate is it your experience that vehicles with metal roofs are cool on the inside because that has not been my experience.

My Model X with a large windshield is not any hotter than a regular car in the sun. The A/C can be turned on in advance and have it cooled by the time you enter.

 

[Deleted member 8371]

Is anyone else concerned about the sunlight and heat build up under the large windshield surface area under it? Besides a huge sun reflecting blocker when parked. is there a legal limit on the amount of mirrored reflection a windshield can have built into it?

I think I will see what it will take to put a layer on windshield to stop the heat from getting in, I am having it put on my S now while it's getting coated with ceramic, suppose to reduce what heat gets in by at least 70%

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