How much heat does clear ceramic film block compared with dark tint?
On LLumar’s spec sheet, clear AIR 80 turns away 43% of the sun’s total energy, more than any shade of dyed ATC except the near-black ATC 05. You keep a factory look and still out-reject a 50% or 35% dyed film.
Every row below was measured the same way, film on one clear 6 mm test pane to NFRC methods, so they compare like with like. The figures come from LLumar’s Window Film Performance Data sheet (LL0116NAEN, 03/26).
| Film | How it looks | Visible light in (VLT) | Solar energy turned back (TSER) | Infrared turned back (IRER) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIR 90, clear ceramic | Close to untreated glass | 84% | 30% | 40% |
| AIR 80, clear ceramic | Close to untreated glass | 77% | 43% | 60% |
| ATC 50, dyed | Lightly tinted | 60% | 28% | 22% |
| ATC 35, dyed | Clearly tinted | 38% | 35% | 22% |
| ATC 05, dyed | Near-black | 5% | 44% | 22% |
Two things stand out. AIR 80 lets in about fifteen times the daylight of ATC 05 for one point less total solar rejection. And on infrared energy, AIR 80’s 60% is almost three times what any dyed shade manages. If you choose between AIR shades, AIR 80 is the heat pick and AIR 90 the clearer one; LLumar publishes no numbers for the 70% shade the shop also lists, so it’s left out here. LLumar AIR’s film page has every column of the sheet, including SIRR and glare.
Which windows can take clear film legally in BC?
Only the glass behind the driver: rear side windows at any shade, plus the back window on a car with two outside mirrors. BC sets no darkness threshold, so a film that’s nearly invisible is treated exactly like limo tint.
MVAR s. 7.05(8) forbids driving with material on the glass that cuts the light coming through it, with three exceptions: a band reaching at most 75 mm down from the windshield’s upper edge, side windows behind the driver, and a rear window when both outside mirrors are fitted. AIR 90 still measures 84%, so it reduces the light, and the rule applies. The 2025 Vehicle Inspection Manual says the same thing from the inspector’s side: item 13d fails added film or coating on the front side glass, light or dark, and item 12e fails windshield tint that comes lower than 75 mm.
In BC: Ask for AIR on the front doors or across a full windshield and the shop will fit it, but only after explaining that it is not road-legal. Mission RCMP puts the usual tint ticket at $109, and on top of that officers can order the film off and the car to a designated inspection facility. Let 30 days pass without that inspection and the fine is $598.
For the whole front-glass rule, see tinting front windows in BC.
Why put clear film over factory privacy glass?
Because the privacy glass already gives you the look and the privacy; what it lacks is heat control. LLumar’s own AIR product page lists factory privacy glass among the glass AIR suits, noting that it “lacks good heat control.”
Film and glass stack, so the light that reaches the cabin is roughly the two percentages multiplied. AIR 80 passes 77%, so over factory glass that lets through 20% the result is about 15%: a small visual change for a large infrared gain. A dark film on the same glass would multiply down much further. If you want the arithmetic for other films, tinting over factory privacy glass works through it.
That makes AIR a natural fit for an SUV, minivan or crew-cab pickup whose back half already came dark. The SUV window tint page shows the seven-window package that glass falls under.
How much UV gets through untreated side glass?
More than through the windshield. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, a windshield is laminated glass with some UVA shielding built in, whereas the side windows, back glass and sunroof are tempered glass, which lets far more UVA through.
Measurements back that up, with a lot of variation between cars:
- Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler tested 29 cars from 15 makers for JAMA Ophthalmology in 2016: the windshields averaged 96% UVA blocked, the side windows 71%, and just 4 cars topped 90% at the side (EurekAlert summary).
- A 2025 study of 34 vehicles from model years 2015 to 2025 measured 99.25% UVA attenuation for windshields against 88.78% for driver’s windows (Axelson et al.). It found rear side windows on gas vehicles close to the windshield, a pattern the hybrids and EVs in the study did not show.
Sun through the side glass has been associated with more skin damage on the side of the body nearest the driver’s window, and this is where BC’s rule cuts against the driver: film on the driver’s own window isn’t legal. What clear film can do is cover the people behind you. Both AIR shades on LLumar’s sheet block more than 99% of UV in the 300 to 380 nm band, matching the darkest films on the sheet.
What does clear film change about how the car looks and works?
Very little, which is the point. AIR cuts glare by only 13% (AIR 80) or 5% (AIR 90), so it won’t do the job of sunglasses, and it reflects 9% of visible light against 5 to 7% for LLumar’s charcoal films.
Like every tint, AIR is fitted to the inside face of the glass, cut on the shop’s plotter to your car’s pattern and shrunk to the curve by hand. Film goes straight over a rear defroster grid, and if it ever needs replacing, it’s steamed off so the grid’s lines survive. For a straight choice between this film and LLumar’s darker ceramic, IRX vs AIR sets the two side by side.
Clear film is not a chip guard. It sits inside the cabin, and the shop offers no film for the outside of a windshield, so a stone that would chip bare glass will chip filmed glass too.
How do you book clear ceramic film in Langley?
Choose the rear package for your body style and ask for it in AIR. The posted starting prices are in dyed LLumar ATC: $220 covers the three rear panes of a sports coupe, $240 the five of a sedan or pickup, and $260 the seven-pane package on a full-size SUV or wagon. The AIR upgrade is quoted on top, so you see both numbers before deciding. Diagrams of each package sit on the window tint price list.
Expect to collect most cars on the day, after roughly two to four hours in the bay for a complete sedan or SUV. Keep the filmed side glass rolled up for 3 to 5 days; clear film can look faintly hazy or show little water pockets in its first week, just as dark film does, until it dries. Film and workmanship carry a lifetime warranty. Send the year, make, model and which windows you want through the clear film quote form, or text 604 534 6433. Asking for the lightest AIR shade by its number? The 70% window tint page covers it.
