Re: Do you tint your double pane Windows?
Reply #12 –
Slightly off topic, but (I hope) still apropos...
We have a love-hate relationship with our tinted windows. Our windows are single-pane, and the previous owners had tint professionally applied to all the windows. The windshield has a clear solar reflecting film of some kind, the driver and passenger side windows are medium tinted, and the rest of the windows have very dark limo tint.
The good thing: especially with our single pane windows, dark tint greatly reduces the perceived heat coming through the glass. We live in West TX, and spend most of our time traveling in the western half of the country, so we appreciate all the help we can get in this regard. Since you have double pane windows, you are starting out with a much more efficient heat barrier. The amount of benefit you realize will be correspondingly less.
The not so good things: Once your windows are tinted, you will never again enjoy the view outside of nature in all it's glory. The dark tint mutes the vibrant colors, darkens the sky, and gives the whole outside view a drab and dingy appearance. On bright days, you will miss seeing much of the beauty outside your windows. On cloudy or rainy days, your view outside is almost totally blocked. In the mornings before the sun is up, it can be quite light outside and you, sitting inside, will think it is still dark. I have to open our entry door and stick my head out to ascertain what kind of morning it really is. At night, you can't see anything through darkly tinted glass, which may have security ramifications, and can possibly lead to night-time driving hazards that are mentioned above. Pulling into a dark, unfamiliar camp ground at night is also much more hazardous with tinted windows. In those situations I have had to stop many times to get out of the coach so I could accurately judge our surroundings. We try to avoid that particular drawback by stopping early...but that's not always possible.
So I'm just saying you have to accept both the good and the bad. Personally, if our coach had double pane thermal glass, I would think long and hard before applying tint. To me, the "loss of sight" would not be worth the reduction in solar gain...but that's just me.
(You could consider MCD Day-Night shades as a alternative solution)
Do what makes you happy!