80
1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™ Carbon Negative Technology for Architects, Homeowners and Businesses Michael Fjetland/BBA/JD

Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    25

  • Download
    1

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

1

Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood

Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat

A Green+Security™ Carbon Negative Technology for Architects, Homeowners and Businesses

Michael Fjetland/BBA/JD

Page 2: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

2

PREFACE

Do you know that every one of us depend on a five-thousand-year-old technology that kills or

injures thousands of people every year, a technology that has never been upgraded until now? It

is the weakest link in every building, including structures built of the strongest steel. Yet most of

us live in houses not much different than the one in the story of the Three Little Pigs.

Do you know what causes houses to blow apart in a tornado or hurricane? Have you noticed the

rash of break-ins? This book reveals a little known Green+Security™ technology that protects

property and families from burglars, hurricanes, tornadoes, and shooters—while paying for itself

in energy savings. This technology is illustrated with photos to provide insight. It is a fast, easy

read, and free, compliments of the author.

The author is a former 9 /11 terrorism analyst on TV who has written this unique book so people

and professionals alike are aware of how they can armor the weakest link of their greatest

investment with this vital technology that saves energy while protecting homes and offices from

breach by humans and Mother Nature.

***

Page 3: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

3

Chapter 1

Banking Your Life on a 5,000--year-old Technology—

The Weakest Link of Every Building

Chapter 2

Project Safe Windows—The Study That Discovered How Hurricanes Kill Buildings

Chapter 3

Why Solar Film is a WASTE of Money in a Hurricane, Tornado, or Burglar Zone

Difference between Solar Film versus Security Film in a Hurricane, Tornado, or Burglar Zone

Chapter 4

Glass Protection Technology for Explosions, Burglars, School Shooters, and Accidents

Chapter 5

Saving Energy = Saving Money: Enough to Pay for Itself Going GREEN with Security

Chapter 6

Final Thoughts and Conclusions

Page 4: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

4

Chapter 1

A 5,000-year-old Technology—The Weakest Link of Every Building

How the Weakest Link of Every Building Makes it Vulnerable to Breach and Damage

Do you remember the story of the three little pigs? One built a house of straw, one built a house

of wood, and one built a house of brick. The big bad wolf easily breached the first two and had a

juicy pig dinner. The story still resonates today, only substitute “people” for the pigs.

All of us live in structures still using a five-thousand-year-old technology that makes our homes

and offices vulnerable to the real big bad wolf of modern life: burglars, hurricanes, tornadoes,

and shooters, as well as solar heat—to name just a few.

Do you know anyone who has experienced a break-in? Are you living in a hurricane or tornado

zone? Are you aware that you are betting your family’s security on ancient technology made

from sand that has hardly changed in thousands of years?

Page 5: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

5

There is finally a low-cost technology to armor your windows” that few know about that would

protect your biggest asset and your family—and cut your energy bill up to 30% at the same time.

Glass is the Achilles heel of every building. It is the most vulnerable component of any structure

whether it is made of wood, brick, or steel. Even a child can easily penetrate glass.

Glass is the preferred point of entry for burglars. It easily gives way to stray baseballs, golf balls,

and bricks hurled by burglars. When broken, it can cut an artery in an instant. It easily breaks

from windborne debris hurled over a hundred miles per hour during hurricanes and tornadoes, as

well as from hail during violent storms. And when it does break, it opens the building to

penetrating winds and blowing rain that cause internal pressures that put uplift stresses on your

roof, leading to structural failure. Even if the building is not destroyed, its breach leads to mold

and months of reconstruction.

Hurricane Katrina, just before it hit New Orleans 2005

Glass hasn’t changed much in thousands of years—until now.

Page 6: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

6

Chase Tower Houston after Hurricane Ike

Every building today is still using this technology that allows light inside and lets us view the

outside world, but poses a safety risk and zero barriers to entry into the places we live and work.

Broken glass from a sliding door – easy entry

There is now a way to armor glass that few people know about. As recently as 2014, eight out of

ten architects in Texas were unaware of it! Few building owners and homeowners know about it.

Only in Florida is there widespread knowledge of this technology.

That is the purpose of this book—to explain this new technology that could save billions in

damages as well as countless injuries and lives while it cuts energy costs enough to pay for itself

over time. It’s a carbon negative technology, meaning that it saves more energy than it takes to

make the product. So it is “green” plus “security” technology vital for every glass window in the

world. This book will explain why.

Hail damage, McAllen, Texas

A friend of mine recently experienced one of his small children falling into a glass table, and she

was cut by the shards. We recently had a person call wanting to protect a senior citizen with

dementia who was breaking the windows in her room.

One bullet from a shooter, such as the one in Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, will blow a

window out, leaving an empty frame for the shooter to step through—even if the doors are

Page 7: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

7

locked. It doesn’t matter if it’s single-pane or double-paned. Glass is easy to break through with

a brick or a bullet, golf ball, bird, or hail stone. Many of our buildings are glass palaces: pretty to

look at, but vulnerable to breaking panes, solar heat, and UV damage.

Window blown out by a shooter

Once a glass window or wall is gone, entry into a building takes only a second. Burglars

typically are in and out in three minutes! Once hurricane-force winds or a tornado hurls debris

through a window, structural failure is imminent (as explained in Chapter 2).

True story: My CPA’s wife was home alone recently. She heard a knock on the front door, but

didn’t answer it. She went back to the bedroom and suddenly there was a crash on the back glass.

It was a burglar trying to break in. If it had not been for Armor Glass technology “armoring”

their glass, he would have gotten in—and it would have been him and her, home alone. That

could not have been good, even if all he did was steal stuff. As it was, he ran off and she had

time to call 911. Armor Glass films saved her and the insurance company from an unpleasant

loss and experience.

Page 8: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

8

Armor Glass® security film is a multitasking technology—one of the few things in life that pays

for itself over time in energy savings while it is armoring your glass.

This same technology was installed on federal buildings in Washington DC after 9/11. It is also

unique in that it can also dramatically cut uncomfortable solar heat and harmful UV rays that

fades precious furnishings and causes skin cancer, our number one cancer.

Once you read this book, you will never consider cheap solar film again—or other more

expensive options like shutters—but will insist on “security film,” also known as “safety film,”

which costs slightly more than solar films, but do things cheap solar film was never designed to

do.

In short, Armor Glass security films:

Act as invisible burglar bars

Act as invisible storm shutters

Save energy—enough to pay for film and labor costs

Cut solar heat up to 79%

Cut 99% of harmful UV rays that fade furnishings and causes skin cancer

Provide 24/7 protection, 365 days a year

Cost a fraction of impact glass and shutters

Are carbon negative

Protect from burglars, hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, golf balls, shooters–everything but

mothers-in-law

Generate 1-4 LEED credits

Page 9: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

9

Security film on glass after impact—Look mom, no glass in my eyes

When broken, glass becomes as dangerous as an exploding hand grenade—in the form of glass

shards and flying shrapnel. Burglars love it—one small strike and they are inside in one second,

and gone in three minutes. Rioters find it an easy target for their flying missiles, opening the

interior to damage from fire and mischief. Once breached, the interior is unprotected from theft

or water damage and winds during a storm, requiring months of work. Plywood is heavy and

cumbersome to install, especially for many women and seniors.

About 75% of the injuries incurred at the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal

Building were caused by flying glass.

Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City

An explosion in Springfield, Massachusetts in 2012 blew out windows in over forty buildings,

fortunately at night when no one was in their offices.

The 1998 bombings at the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania injured over five thousand, many

due to flying glass from the concussion of the blast. Broken glass in the 1996 terrorist bombing

of Khobar Towers at the US Air Force base in Saudi Arabia resulted in over 330 injuries, 80% to

90% of them caused by glass shrapnel. Many pieces can be so small that a surgeon has trouble

finding them. They can fester and cause infections.

Page 10: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

10

The meteorite that exploded over Russia in 2013 sent a concussion wave that blew out windows,

causing over one thousand people to suffer facial injuries from the exploding glass windows.

The 2013 Boston bombings not only injured the spectators, the blast wave also blew out glass,

causing injuries that could have been avoided with Armor Glass®.

Tornadoes are condensed hurricanes: they throw debris through glass windows, causing

buildings to blow apart from the pressurization. The tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma, in 2013

was a super tornado that ripped apart buildings and turned glass windows into flying shrapnel.

With Armor Glass® security film, the glass would have been either contained in the frame with a

large window impact —or blown out as one big piece instead of a thousand deadly fragments.

While a direct hit would obviously be over those limits, it would protect any nearby structure

that was taking debris strikes on its windows.

How are houses blown apart during hurricanes and tornadoes?

What causes houses to blow apart during hurricanes? Why would one house be spared when the

ones next to it are obliterated?

That was the question a group wanted answered, and now we know. The answer was found in

“Project Safe Windows,” a study of the four hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004. It also

documented for the first time a death definitely caused by flying glass during a hurricane. It was

the first study of its kind and confirmed how the glass in your home or office can cause your

house to be blown apart in a storm and kill.

In 2011 a young woman fell to her death after falling through a hotel window in downtown

Atlanta. Glass injuries hit over 40,000 US homes each year. There are 30,000 injuries caused by

glass doors every year (even though glass doors are made with safer tempered glass), not to

mention injuries caused by glass windows, etc.

Page 11: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

11

Earthquakes, burglars, explosions, pounding hail, and hurling golf balls breaking windows add to

the damage total every year—billions of dollars of damages that could be avoided with Armor

Glass technology.

Tornadoes are like condensed hurricanes – Hurling wind-borne debris through windows,

causing uplift on the roof and structural failure.

One lady told the author that her son was sitting in their living room one day when a golf ball hit

the window and sprayed him with glass. He was lucky it didn’t get into his eyes. Can you

imagine? A radio host I know was at a country club in Houston one day when a golf ball came

crashing through the window. We have been in homes that had experienced golf balls crashing

through bedroom windows and nearly hitting the owner. They had searched for protection and

found there weren’t really any solutions that were affordable or practical.

Armor Glass: containing glass in a security film vs. loose glass shards that cut

Even elected officials are often unaware of this technology.

All of them need to understand why cheap thin solar film sold by most companies is a waste of

money and is a dinosaur—along with heavy, ugly plywood that is a suicide mission to install,

and a pest to store.

Glass is truly an amazing and most useful product. Can you imagine being in a house or building

without it? No one wants to live in a bunker—or stare at four solid walls all day. We want to see

outside! That’s why it has been prized by kings and common folk alike since its invention. Its

presence is seen and felt every day by virtually every living individual.

Page 12: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

12

But it has a dark side. In a 1972 opinion, one court discussed the dangers of glass injuries from

glass that was not "safety glass." It said: “Purposeful footsteps, impact, the harsh, shattering

crash of jagged spears of glass falling and disintegrating on the floor, and disabling and

disfiguring injuries or death—this sequence of events is acted out, according to safety experts, in

40,000 American homes annually.” Moody v. Southland Inv. Corp., 126 Ga. App. 225, 230, 190

S.E.2d 578, 581 (1972) (quoting Wolfstone, “Glass Door Accidents,” 14 Am. Jur. Trials 101,

105.)

Even music star Justin Bieber had a run in with a glass window in a hotel. He said, “I got into a fight with a glass window

yesterday, and in result, I can't move my eyebrow.”

“An Iowa woman who hurt herself walking into a glass panel at Culver's is suing the restaurant

for physical and emotional trauma.”

“The latest tally of meteorite-related injuries in Russia's Chelyabinsk region has reached about

1,000—most suffered from shards of glass that went flying when the meteor entered the

atmosphere and sounded loud, window-shattering booms on its way to the ground.”

Page 13: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

13

Face injuries from Boston explosion

“[P]laintiff offers several cases in which courts have held that failure to install safety glass in

heavily used doors may be the basis of liability, notwithstanding the fact that safety glass was not

required by the building codes…”

And finally, this study concludes: “Lacerations due to glass can result in several health problems.

Fragments of glass in a wound may lead to persistent pain, delayed healing, increased scarring,

neuropraxis, and infection.”

For many decades, manufacturers, builders, and architects have known that plate glass breaks in

a sharp, jagged way.

Because ordinary glass breaks with sharp fragments, it is much more likely to cause serious

injury than safety glazing. Glass used in or near exit doors is one on the most common source of

injuries–people walking into the invisible glass– even though numerous glass products made of

unsafe glass have continually led to serious injury and wrongful death. But even safety glass will

cause injuries–and once broken it leaves the building vulnerable to weather and human intrusion.

Rioters breaking out store windows. Finally, there is a way to “armor your glass.”

How do we make glass, virtually unchanged for millennia, stronger and safer?

Page 14: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

14

By applying to it Armor Glass® security film. It is a high-tech polycarbonate film that is 8 mil (or

more)—several times thicker than the thin 2 mil solar film people are more familiar with (1 mil

=.001 in.; 8 mil = .008 in.)

Security window film ranges in thickness from 8 mil to 14 mil and its purpose is to prevent the

breach of glass that is broken by man or nature. Originally invented in the 1970s because of

bombings in Northern Ireland, security film was installed in mass quantities on Washington DC

federal buildings windows after 9/11, essentially for explosion protection from car and truck

bombs. It would also protect schools from shooters, as we discuss in a later chapter.

No safety film will stop a bullet or keep the glass from breaking. But it does prevent breach of

the glass–certified 8 mil safety film will stop a 4.5 lb. “missile” impact (Level C). Think of a

burglar with a brick or a tree limb blowing into the glass during a hurricane. It would delay a

shooter from getting inside—because each shot produces only a small hole in the glass. A

shooter would have to use a lot of ammo to literally shoot a silhouette big enough for him to get

inside. That gives police time to arrive and students’ time to shelter in a safe room.

Safety film keeps out the fierce winds that tear off roofs and allow rain to pour in.

Our security films make glass stronger and safer. And security film is carbon negative, meaning

that it saves more energy than it takes to make it!

The following chapter shows how hurricanes blow houses apart and why making glass breach-

resistant is vital for the safety of people and buildings. “Project Safe Windows” explored why

one house survived a hurricane, while ones next to it were totally destroyed.

Page 15: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

15

Chapter 2

Project Safe Windows

In 2004 Florida was hit by four separate hurricanes: Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. It

sustained billions in losses. After the 2004 hurricane season, the Protecting People First

Foundation commissioned ABS Consulting to study the impact of hurricanes on various

window-protection technologies. The study was called “Project Safe Windows.”

They studied shutters, hurricane screens, impact-resistant glass (laminated), plywood—and

safety/security window film.

The purpose of their on-site study was to document the contribution of impact-resistant glass,

security film, hurricane shutters, and other protective glazing technologies in preventing injury

and property loss as a result of these hurricanes. They wanted to know why one house survived

when the houses next to it were destroyed by the storms. No other study like it had ever been

undertaken.

The cause of the destruction? Wind-borne debris breaking windows which leads to roof loss and

structural failure.

The Protecting People First Foundation was established in 1998 is to raise awareness of the

hazards associated with natural and manmade disasters, and to promote the technologies

available to mitigate these hazards. The Foundation was created by Aren Almon-Kok, mother of

one-year-old Oklahoma City bombing victim Baylee Almon, one of nineteen children killed in

the 1994 Oklahoma City bombing. Almon-Kok created the foundation to honor the memory of

her daughter and other bombing victims by promoting the lessons learned in the Oklahoma City

bombing through a national education campaign.

Page 16: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

16

Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City. Destroyed by truck bomb, 1994.

The building contained a day care center—the kids are pictured above.

The foundation has focused much of its work in recent years on the promotion of safety glass

technology to mitigate the impact of hurricanes, tornadoes, and manmade disasters such as

bombings. (After founding Armor Glass® I discovered the same technology also protects from

burglar break-ins after several of our clients experienced attempted burglaries. Details are in a

later chapter..)

Eric Cote, manager of the Protecting People First Foundation, cited studies of property damage

by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 that showed some 65% of property damage claims were the result

of interior water damage caused when flying debris or high winds destroyed windows.

It doesn’t take much to break through glass, any glass.

“Our objective with Project Safe Windows is to conduct a detailed analysis to validate these

initial reports and document findings from an engineering standpoint,” Cote said. “If the

experience with Hurricane Andrew and Charley tell us anything, it is that investment in safe

windows ought to be at the top of any hurricane preparedness list,” he said.

Page 17: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

17

The above drawing shows how air flowing inside a broken window puts uplift on roof and outside pressure on walls, causing

structural failure. Photo below shows the result on a real house.

In short, the foundation found that the differences in performance of the technology are dramatic

in some cases—and that structures that had security window film installed survived storms in

which the next-door structure that did not have it was destroyed or heavily damaged. The study

also included comparisons of shutters and hurricane screens, which also worked, but since they

cost up to ten times more than security film and do not provide 24/7 burglar protection or UV

and solar heat relief, they are not discussed here.

A broken window in Chambers County, Texas after Hurricane Ike in 2008

Page 18: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

18

The catastrophic chain of events begins with wind-borne debris that breaks a window, allowing

the wind to rush in. Air going in needs to go out, and the easy way out is UP, lifting off the roof.

Ask any architect. Buildings are designed to resist outside pressure, not internal pressure. Once

the envelope of a structure is breached, the researchers found that it led to a significant increase

in the internal air pressure that can cause a wide range of damage, including total building

collapse and structural failure. Security film kept structures both secure and dry, even if the

window was broken by the flying debris.

Once the building envelope is breached, those wind forces are basically blowing the structure

apart. The same negative impact could happen from a debris strike by an urban tornado.

Recently, an Armor Glass® client, who is an engineer for a Fortune 500 company, told us that he

had calculated that “one hole in a window would exert fifty thousand pounds of uplift on the

roof” from the rushing wind. If his calculation is correct, that would be sufficient to lift off a roof

and destroy a building.

Armor Glass film and glass after an impact during a hurricane—no breach of the glass by windborne debris strikes. No mold,

water damage, etc. Just replace the glass and film and good to go again.

Compare that to the old method of taping windows (below) which doesn’t work—and looks pretty bad. On this one the owner

never bothered to take it off since Hurricane Ike! It’s not a good way to attract business or guests!

.

Page 19: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

19

When Hurricane Ike hit Houston in September 2008, windows were blown out all over the city

(and over 150 miles inland). One building, Chase Tower, suffered over five million dollars in

damages when the windows on an entire side of the building were literally sucked out of their

frames by the wind, which created a low-pressure area on the downwind side of the building.

Entire offices had their contents sucked out, along with the windows. Had people been in those

offices, they would have also been sucked out. The building was closed for months for

reconstruction.

Many high rises and homeowners also incurred window breaks from wind-borne debris.

If the owners of buildings that sustained window losses had installed Armor Glass®

security

window film to armor their glass and bonded it to the frames with a special structural sealant wet

glaze called “Dow 995,” they would not have lost those windows, even if they were broken!

Insurance companies should be all over this to cut their losses from both storms and break-ins—

in fact some insurance companies are already requiring it.

Security window film was installed on the federal buildings in Washington DC on a massive

scale for the first time after 9/11—over 500,000 square feet of it was put on the Smithsonian,

Congress, the FBI building, and even the Pentagon. For them, it was installed for explosion

protection. For the rest of us, it provides protection for other daily threats.

But it wasn’t a brand new technology. It was developed during the space age, which brought new

materials to life, and by the rise of car bombings in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, long before

people even imagined a 9/11 event. But its uses go far beyond bombs. Hail breaks windows, golf

balls do the same.

Chase Tower in downtown Houston after Hurricane Ike—missing something?

Page 20: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

20

Mexico car bomb—Armor Glass films are Level 2 explosion rated

Galveston hailstone April 2013—another need for Armor Glass security film

Photo by Michael Fjetland

Moore, Oklahoma hospital hit by EF5 tornado—notice how it blew out the

glass.

Page 21: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

21

One case highlighted in “Project Safe Windows” was the home of Liz Hutchinson who lived in

Punta Gorda, Florida. Before Hurricane Charley, she had installed security film on her windows.

Quoting from the Project Safe Windows report:

“Liz Hutchinson owns a modest-sized bungalow built in 1929 near the town center. Her home is

surrounded on both sides by nearly identical homes, neither of which had security window film.

Lizʼs home had security window film on all windows except a small attic window. All but two of

her windows were shattered and it appeared that the damage occurred due to smaller wind-borne

debris, mainly roof gravel. Her windows looked as if someone had shot them with a shotgun.

The window film held all of the broken glass intact and there was no water intrusion from any of

these windows.”

The report goes on to say what happened to her neighbors, who had no window protection:

“Liz was very fortunate. But both of her neighbors, one who is also an artist, were not so lucky.

Shattered annealed windows in the front of the neighbor’s house west of Lizʼs house allowed

major water damage that destroyed many works of arts and a significant amount of framing

equipment. This neighbor and her family, which included six adults and a dog, rode out this

storm in an interior bathroom. The walls shook violently, and after the front windows blew out,

the woman’s husband had to struggle to hold the bathroom door from being sucked open. Her

other neighbor suffered significant window damage from the same type of smaller wind-borne

debris that struck Lizʼs bungalow. All three of these structures were built at the same time

(1920s) by the same builder using the same construction materials. The window glass and frames

were the same. Only Lizʼs had security film, and the resulting benefits were evident.”

The Bon Secours Saint Joseph Hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida, also escaped major damage

from Hurricane Charley because it had both laminated glass and security window film on its

windows. Debris impacts cracked the skylight glass, but the security window film prevented any

rain or wind from entering the hospital.

The “Project Safe Windows” report put it this way:

“This hospital stayed open during the entire hurricane and sustained major damage, mostly in the

form of broken windows, roof damage and extensive water intrusion. The hospital was originally

built in the 1960s and has undergone several major expansions since then. Its most recent

expansion was a new emergency department that has laminated glass. This glass performed very

well, with only one pane of laminated glass broken after the storm. In the older sections of the

hospital, we saw evidence of shattered windows held intact by security window film”

Page 22: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

22

A burglar tried to break through Armor Glass® security film on a client’s back door—film held although the

wooden door broke. In other words, our security film was stronger than the client’s door! So he got a better door and

had Armor Glass® applied to the glass.

Above: Impact on window at home of author’s CPA. His wife was home alone when a burglar tried to break in a

few months after Armor Glass was installed. Without it, he would have gotten in easily, leaving her home alone

with a burglar. Even if all he did was steal stuff, it would not have been good. Armor Glass® security film avoided

that unpleasant prospect as well as a loss of personal effects and peace of mind.

Glass kills—a documented death from glass during a hurricane

Solar film is not security film! This is an important distinction. When film is on your window,

most people can’t tell thin solar film from thicker security film. The difference can mean life or

death.

Page 23: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

23

Project Safe Windows field researchers identified two cases where solar control window film

provided either no protection or minimal protection against wind-borne debris. They also

documented a death caused by broken glass.

Broken Glass can kill or maim

In one case, a seventy-six-year-old Punta Gorda, Florida resident was killed by flying debris that

entered the home in which most, if not all, of the windows had been coated with solar control

window film. There was extensive damage to home resulting in the death of homeowner Burton.

(More on the critical differences between solar film and security film are covered in a later

chapter.)

Project Safe windows lists the primary causes of wind damage to buildings: (1) global pressure;

(2) local pressure; (3) internal pressure; and (4) debris impact. “These factors, acting

independently or in combination, can result in penetration of building openings such as windows

and doors, and partial or total collapse of the structural frame.” In short, buildings are designed

to withstand external wind pressure, not internal. Once the envelope is breached, for example, by

a window break, then the wind rushes inside the structure and seeks a way out. The increased

wind pressure will uplift the roof, blow out windows and doors, and can result in a total building

collapse due to failure of the structural frame.

To quote from the Project Safe Windows report:

“A common type of damage associated with extreme winds is caused by wind-borne debris.

Transported by high winds…these air-borne projectiles range in size from grains of sand to tree

limbs, timber fragments, and gravel to entire roofs! It is this wind-borne debris that usually

Page 24: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

24

results in a window breach by stressing the glass beyond its tensile strength. That is what leads to

internal damages from flying glass, wind and rain, and structural failure.”

While the 2014 hurricane season was quiet in the Atlantic, it produced

CAT 4 and CAT 5 storms in the Pacific. Instead, we saw tornadoes

where tornadoes don’t usually exist – like in Maine!

In a case study from Project Safe Windows, two homes hit by Hurricane Charley in Punta Gorda,

Florida were examined. One had security window film installed and the other house twenty feet

away had no protection in its windows. The Babyak family had installed both garage door

reinforcements and security film. Several windows were struck by wind-borne debris, cracking

them. However, the film held and the house was spared. Twenty feet away from the Babyak

house was a home owned by the Hartwick family. After Hurricane Charley it was classified as “a

total loss” by the insurance company. Two large glass sliders at the rear of the house were blown

out of their frames. The front windows were blown out into the yard and even the side windows

were blown out.

In Port Charlotte, Florida, homeowner Brad West had security film on his house before

Hurricane Charley hit. According to the PSW report: “Some of his windows shattered, but the

film held, saving over $4,000 of computer equipment from being damaged. Several neighbors

had roofs heavily damaged. One neighboring house had tinted solar film on its windows, which

failed after being struck by a roof tile, allowing shattered glass and sections of glass to enter the

bedroom. Shattered glass littered the bed and the floor.” (Emphasis added.)

This is what security film looks like after impact—glass breaks but no breach, avoiding uplift on the roof and no rain or wind

intrusion. Therefore, mold and months of reconstruction were avoided. Cost of replacing impact glass is three to five times the

cost of replacing a regular window with Armor Glass® security window film.

Page 25: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

25

Author Michael Fjetland sits behind broken glass window that has security film installed. Think of it as the plastic shield between

you and broken glass, keeping wind, mold, broken glass, and rain out!

This is a sampling of the investigation by Project Safe Windows, and in each case the answer

was the same—security film works! But you need to make sure that the security film installed

has actually passed the appropriate tests.

That is why building owners need to have a security window film of at least 8 mil thickness that

has been tested to pass ASTM 1886/1996 Large Missile Impact Level “C” (4.5 lb. missile) as

well as Miami-Dade Protocols PA 201, 202, and 203. (Not all so-called “security” film has

passed these tests by an independent lab, so be sure to find out!)

The author had a personal experience with security film during a more recent event.

On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike took aim at Houston, Texas, home to over six million

people in the greater Houston area. One of the last jobs Armor Glass®

was able to do was for a

lady who lived on the eighteenth floor of a high-rise in central Houston. She had insisted we

install security window film on her unit even though the normal dry time for the film is thirty

days. Within ten feet of the glass walls she had priceless antiques. During Ike, windows in units

above her blew out, and windows in units below her blew out. Her windows, even with brand

new security film installed, held.

Photo by Michael Fjetland

Page 26: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

26

Houston high-rise where Armor Glass® Security Film was installed on one unit the day before Hurricane Ike hit. Windows on

installed unit held. However, glass above and below that unit was blown out, causing water and wind damage inside the units.

Water then could flow into all units below.

It was a different story a few floors up. The glass wall in the penthouse on the top floor blew out

completely. The couple raced to the door to get into the protected hallway and out of the flying

glass, horizontal rain, and wind, but initially could not open the door! Why? Because the wind

pressures from one-hundred-plus mph winds were too great! Imagine all the water damages, not

only in their unit, but all the units below them, the prized possessions lost, the risk of injury from

glass fragments, and the months of reconstruction hassle and costs.

Armor Glass®

installed its security window film on a couple of houses facing Galveston Bay just

a couple months before Ike hit. Neither one had any damage, whereas the units next to them

were totally destroyed.

Photo by Michael Fjetland Armor Glass® installed security film on the house on the right BEFORE Hurricane Ike in 2008. It sits on Galveston Bay. It suffered

no broken windows. Compare it to the house on the left that had no window protection.

Armor Glass® was asked to put its security film on the fifth floor of Sparrow Hospital in

Lansing, Michigan. That floor houses their ICU unit for premature babies. It is surrounded by a

row of windows. Slightly below those windows, about fifty to a hundred feet away, is a gravel

roof. During tornado events, the staff has had to evacuate its tiny patients to the hallways, but

some incubators could not be unplugged and moved without risking the life of the preemie

infant. Another problem: the hallway didn’t have enough electrical outlets for all the equipment!

Now, with security window film installed, staff can stay with any infants that cannot be moved

during a storm threat, with greater protection than they had before. Any protection is better than

none.

Page 27: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

27

Installing Clear Armor Glass® security film at Sparrow Hospital ICU unit for premature babies, Lansing, Michigan.

Independent tests verify that many security window films provide equivalent ability to withstand

stress compared to laminated glass (laminated glass is a special window which has a film like

ours sandwiched between two panes of glass—it is very expensive and heavy.)

There is really no need for an ongoing debate about the use of safety/security window films

versus the use of storm shutters.

Photos by MichaeFjetland

No glass protection means dangerous flying glass during a storm. This was Moore, OK, after a tornado struck in 2013.

Storms shutters are made to protect windows, which are part of the structure of a building.

Improperly manufactured or installed shutters may actually become large projectiles during a

major window event, such as a hurricane. And then there is the issue of cost.

Shutters cost about five to ten times more than Armor Glass® Security Film per square foot.

They have to be hung on the outside of the structure. Shutters do not block solar heat or UV

when they are up. They can’t put them on glass doors and certain windows, leaving an

unprotected entry point for a debris strike, wind, and water. Nor do they pay for themselves in

energy savings. In fact, shutters require annual costs for maintenance since they tend to rust over

time, like any mechanical device exposed to the elements, costing thousands of dollars over the

life of the shutters! If you have a stucco house, neither shutters nor plywood can be installed.

Armor Glass® can be put on any flat glass, whether it is a one-story house or a hundred-story

Page 28: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

28

office tower. It goes on the inside of the glass, out of the weather—so multi-story buildings are

no problem.

Security film doesn’t cost anything once it is applied—you’re done! It’s immediately saving

energy and blocking UV rays while armoring your glass from breach. Frankly, shutters are ugly

and expensive.

Shutters (left) and Lexan (right): Expensive and not pretty. Both require activation to work and maintenance. Lexan turns yellow over time due to UV rays. Armor Glass films don’t change color.

We quote from Project Safe Windows:

“Shutter systems are an ‘active’ system. They work only when someone takes steps to put them

into use. The operator of the shutter system must not only be present but must also accurately

determine the amount of advance timing needed to activate the protection.

“Safety/security films, on the other hand, work when glass is broken by holding shards and

fragments together in the film–which is on the inside providing a plastic protective barrier–

rather than allowing them to become projectiles striking persons and objects inside a building.

One direct benefit is to reduce the probability and/or severity of injury to persons who might

otherwise have been injured or killed as a result of flying glass fragments. Another possible

benefit is to reduce the probability or severity of injury from human impact, that is, when a

person inside the house accidentally breaks a window by direct contact such as would occur from

a fall into a glass panel. In a spontaneous wind burst, as might occur during a severe

thunderstorm when wind speeds could be in the forty to ninety mph range, much glass breakage

from flying debris can still occur. In these listed incidents, properly manufactured and installed

safety/security window films offer as much or better potential protection than shutters since:

(1) the film is a passive system and needs no anticipation of these events for an operator to

activate it, such as would be needed with a shutter system; (2) visibility of the situation outside is

maintained; and (3) potential property damage due to continuing rain and windborne debris

continues to be lessened.” (Emphasis added.)

The above quote is from the Project Safe Windows study—not us.

It goes on to say:

Page 29: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

29

“To put it very simply, shutter systems that meet the Dade County Standard are intended to help

prevent structural collapse so a building could be re-occupied more quickly after a major wind

event. The use of safety/security films improves life safety issues and reduces the potential for

property damage in less than catastrophic glass breakage events. In an existing home, the

consumer need only to decide what they are trying to protect. Both technologies might be needed

if both structural integrity of the building and life safety are desired in all circumstances.”

Page 30: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

30

Chapter 3:

Why Solar Film is a WASTE of Money in a Hurricane/Tornado/Burglar Zone

Difference between Solar Film versus Security Film Can Save Your Life in a

Hurricane/Tornado/Burglar Zone

What is the difference between solar film and security film? Why is solar film a waste of money?

Easy.

Solar film is thin and cheap, and it only blocks the sun. It has no strength to provide breach

protection of the glass from the common threats we face every day. It won’t stop a burglar. It

will fail the Large Missile Impact (to simulate large objects hitting the glass such as bricks

wielded by burglars or a tree limb during a hurricane).

Photo: Thin, flimsy solar film is only 2 mil thick vs. 8 mil for security film.

Solar film has not passed any hurricane test or explosion test. All solar film is doing is providing

some sun protection from solar heat—but it won’t keep the roof from flying off when the

window is breached by a major debris strike. It won’t keep a burglar from breaking in. It’s like

buying a two-ply tire (instead of the standard four-ply) and driving seventy-five miles per hour,

hoping it won’t blow out—until it does.

Solar film on glass does not prevent window losses during hurricane, hail, or tornado.

Greenway Plaza, Houston after Hurricane IKE

Page 31: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

31

Armor Glass security film, on the other hand, blocks the sun and provides that critical window

breach protection we all need from Mother Nature and human intrusion. Basically, it armors the

glass and still pays for itself over time in energy savings.

For less than twice the cost of solar film, a homeowner can buy 8 mil security film that has (1)

solar properties; and (2) is certified as having passed the Large Missile Impact test (4.5 lb Level

C), as well as the Miami-Dade PA 201 and 203 hurricane protocols—as well as the GSA Level 2

explosion test you can see on the website (www.ArmorGlass.com). The same film will also cut

solar heat up to 79% so it cuts energy use up to 30%, while protecting the building occupants and

owner’s investment. It will cut 99% of harmful UV rays that fade valuable furnishings and cause

skin cancer (our number one cancer).

Armor Glass® 8 mil Clear Security Film being installed at the University of Houston—their computer servers were sitting

behind these large panes of glass in the atrium.

Window with CLEAR Armor Glass film installed— Invisible shutters/Burglar bars

So why buy solar film? It may look the same but do you want to chance your family’s life on a

cheap two-ply tire at seventy miles per hour? When a tire blows out, lives can be lost and

property damaged. Your windows are weak—like two-ply tires: once they blow out, you risk

Page 32: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

32

losing the entire investment, whether it is a hundred-thousand or million-dollar home. Why risk

it?

Forty percent of Americans live near a coast. The rest live in a tornado zone or an earthquake

zone. We all live in a burglar zone. Armor Glass has many clients who live in gated communities

behind high walls who are still broken into. Every year we have a hurricane season for six

months. It won’t be called off for lack of interest next year.

Six months of every year is hurricane season

As the planet gets hotter, the storms get stronger, and the risks increase. Hotter air holds more

water, so the storms create more energy, both in wind force and rain. Tornadoes have been

spotted in unlikely places like Maine! The largest hurricane recorded in human history hit the

Philippines in November 2013. The Pacific Hurricanes in 2014 have been huge – CAT 4 and

CAT 5. Hurricanes also spew debris-hurling tornadoes. Hail storms knock out windows. The

West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion blew out windows of buildings blocks away—leading to

greater damage as the internal pressure blew apart the buildings, causing injuries and deaths.

Burglars operate 24/7, 365 days a year.

Cheap solar film protects against NONE of these threats. So why use it?

Safety and security and solar control window films would provide that protection. They are

applied to the inside surface of a glass pane to absorb heat, reflect sunlight, or to contain fallout

after breakage.

Project Safe windows said this:

Page 33: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

33

“Solar control window film should never be considered acceptable protection against

hurricane force winds. It is designed for solar control purposes and any safety benefit is

incidental. Safety and security films are designed specifically to hold glass fragments together

when glass breaks.” (Emphasis added.)

Solar film cannot be security film, but security film can also be solar film!

Solar film WON’T stop a window breach by a storm or burglar. It jeopardizes the huge investment made in that structure by the

owner.

Many companies are selling cut-rate films less than 8 mil thick. A 4 mil or 6 mil film is not

rated for the ASTM Large missile impact (4.5 lb Level C), so they don’t provide authentic

hurricane/burglar protection. They do it because thinner film is cheaper. Once it is on the

window, the customer can’t tell how thick or thin it is. The customer thinks they saved 20% of

the cost of what Armor Glass®

security film costs—but they have been scammed. They are

being sold an inferior product for an inflated price.

Project Safe Windows describes our technology this way: “Safety and security window film is a

single or multi-layered polycarbonate film that transforms ordinary window glass into a shield

against dangerous flying or falling shards of glass, which can result in death, serious injury

and extensive property damage. The thicker multi-layered laminates of clear or tinted films

use an adhesive to hold the window glass together when it is shattered by terrorist bombings,

accidental explosions or by forces of nature like hurricanes. This adhesion to glass fragments

eliminates dangerous shard formation which occurs in untreated glass. Applied security and

safety film dramatically reduces the hazards to personnel from flying glass.” (Emphasis

added.)

BEWARE of the “thinner is OK” trick by some manufacturers’ dealers. Some companies seem

more concerned with tricking customers into buying inferior quality film to make a quick buck

instead of providing certified security window film. By certified, I specifically refer to the

“Large Missile Impact Test, 4.5 lb. Level C. Other companies will try to sell you a 4 mil film by

a “famous maker” in order to get you to jump at a lower price.

Page 34: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

34

Don’t get fooled by the cheap substitute. No 4 mil film passes the Large Missile test, which is

required for hurricane protection and human burglars. Don’t be conned into paying 15–20% less

for a thinner film that is not certified for a Level C 4.5 lb. Large Missile impact. When it comes

to either winds or a human beating on your glass, thicker film is better!

Armor Glass® security films come in both Clear and Solar+Security versions. The clear is

invisible on the glass and doesn’t change the look of a large building. The solar version is also

the big energy saver—it cuts up to 79% of the solar heat coming into the building. That cuts the

amount of heat needing to be air conditioned, cutting your energy bill!

Armor Glass® solar security film was installed on single pane glass on a house in Seabrook,

Texas. That customer found that his yearly energy consumption went from 19,000 BTUs to

13,000 BTUs. That a 6,000 BTU drop, or 31% decline!

Do You Need Just the Film—Or Something Else with It?

Some glass requires “Dow 995” Frame Bonding

This brings us to the question—is the security film on the glass by itself good enough protection,

or is something else required?

The answer depends on the type of glass the film is applied to—and the application. Most

residential windows are plate glass and only need security film. However, tempered glass (like

doors and commercial building glass) must always be bonded to the window film with a Dow

995 type structural sealant. It keeps the tempered glass from falling out when struck.

It looks like caulk but it never dries out and cracks like caulk.

Believe it or not, we have heard from people numerous times when companies have installed

security film on tempered glass but failed to add the Dow 995 frame bonding. In one case, the

building owner had no clue that once struck, that glass would detach from the frame and fall out.

It happened to one owner of a building in Houston on an eight foot by ten foot section of glass. It

was hit. The entire section crashed to the ground.

Page 35: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

35

If it’s tempered glass—and glass doors are always tempered—make sure the installer adds a

Dow 995 type frame bonding or it is an accident waiting to happen (not to mention negligent

installation). A good installer will also use blue tape to keep the Dow 995 straight and

professional looking. You can see how it is applied in the video page at

www.ArmorGlassInternational.com

The Project Safe Windows report from the prior chapter says this about Dow 995 frame bonding:

“A much greater level of protection can be provided by security film which is attached to

properly-anchored window frames. Attached film provides a membrane which captures glass

fragments and prevents intrusion of wind, rain, and debris, providing substantial reduction in

potential property losses and additional protection to personnel.”

This is a photo of what “Dow 995” looks like—it’s the gray edge material (It comes in white,

black, gray). GE Silpruf does the same job and comes in more colors to match modern frames.

Looking out of Chase Bank window in Oakdale on Long Island, NY with clear 8 mil Armor Glass® security film

bonded to the silver frames with gray Dow 995 structural sealant. (You MUST use Dow 995 on tempered glass or it

WILL fall out when struck. It’s not required on plate glass, which is typical for residences.) Most residential

tempered glass is for doors—look for an etching in a corner which indicates it is a tempered glass window. Plate

glass has no etchings on it.

In other words, a film that is bonded to a window’s frame can take a bigger hit than just film

alone.

Page 36: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

36

Author Michael Fjetland hitting a single pane glass window on which Armor Glass® security film has been installed. It cracks,

but doesn’t breach. (Don’t try this at home, especially on a weekend when glass guys get paid overtime.)

There are a number of attachment methods available from security film suppliers, ranging from

extruded aluminum shapes to structural silicone. One of the most common that we at Armor

Glass® recommend is the GE Silpruf structural silicone for bonding (anchoring) the film to the

window frames. We like it because it has less vapor smell than the Dow product, and it also

comes in more colors to match the frames of residential windows. (Dow only comes in black,

white, and gray.) GE Silpruf has nearly a dozen color choices to match the new colored frames.

There are also mechanical attachment systems, but they are costly and difficult to install

compared to 995. Some companies sell a two sided “sticky” tape – avoid it. You can pull it off

with your fingers. It provides little or no support.

Chase Bank, NY, which had ten foot by thirteen foot panes of glass.

However, not all security film is tested, so how do you know that is it really secure? Find out

before you buy because a lot of companies are selling uncertified films.

Ask this question: Has it passed the ASTM 1886/1996 Level C (4.5 lb.) Large Missile test? If

not, then it is not security film, regardless how thick it is. There are a lot of cheap imports

coming into the United States. A vendor can put anything on your glass, and you won’t be able

Page 37: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

37

to tell if it’s 2 mil or 4 mil or whatever. Untested products often fail when you need them the

most.

In other instances, windows of the same type in the same building that were protected by film

survived storms intact while unprotected windows did not.

Comparing Security Film to Shutters in Cost and Protection Level

Now that we have eliminated solar film as a safety option, let’s compare security window film to

shutters (which are many times more expensive per square foot) and heavy, ugly plywood (also

known as “poor man’s shutters.”)

Shutters are several times more expensive than security film. When open, shutters provide no solar heat reduction or UV-ray amd

burglar protection. When closed, the building is DARK if there is no electricity. Power shutters cannot be opened without

electricity. And they cost up to ten times what security film costs.

A quote from Project Safe Windows on shutters:

“It was noted that many panel shutters were up weeks after Hurricane Jeanne. There were three

stated reasons for this. One was that a third hurricane might still strike the area and some

residents wanted to be ready.

“A second reason was that it was expensive to have paid help, if it could be found, to put shutters

up on short notice. People paid as much as $350 for 12 windows to be shuttered on two-story

units. Of course, there would be an additional cost to take them down. Residents who hired help

did not want to incur unnecessary additional expense. The third reason for not taking shutters

down by those who did it themselves was that it was difficult and potentially dangerous. Shutters

of the panel type were slightly larger than the windows that they covered and caught the wind

easily. It was hard enough to handle the shutters on the ground level and risky if they had to be

carried up a ladder. Another consideration was that the shutter edges were relatively sharp.

“Several instances were cited where shutter installers incurred lacerations from handling the

shutters including some severe lacerations that required surgical intervention.

“Installers advocate that shutters and their mounting bolts or tracks should be carefully inspected

prior to each hurricane season. Corrosion, especially with shutters installed in areas close to salt

water, is known to occur. Shutters are also costly—up to ten times more per square foot then

security film. They also require annual maintenance which is costly. Nor do they save any

energy or provide any break-in protection when they are open.

Page 38: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

38

“Further study is recommended to determine if flexible screens are capable of withstanding long-

term exposure to the sun without weakening.”

Note that the pricing for the shutter mounting is dated since the study was made in 2004. Also,

the city manager of Seabrook (now retired) told me that they had windows break behind their

shutters, which allowed damaging rain to enter. So they had Armor Glass®

security film installed

on their glass to prevent that in the future.

How about Plywood? The “Poor Man’s Shutters”

Comparing Armor Glass® Security Film to Plywood

Do you still ride a horse to work? Still use an outhouse for a toilet? Then why use plywood for

storm protection?

Plywood is as out of date as horses are for our primary transportation. Plywood is so last century,

yet “experts” continue to call for its use—despite the fact it is as handy to put in place as lifting

an elephant. It is extremely heavy. It is ugly. Putting it on a second-story window is a suicide

mission. Add high winds, and it is even more of a risk. I think this happens because so few

people, including experts, know that security film exists. We intend to change that.

When plywood is not in use covering a window, it is taking up space in your garage and

attracting insects—or becoming part of your next woodworking project. If a twenty-four-hour

storm pops up or you are out of town, then it is useless. Senior citizens, the disabled, and many

women physically cannot manage installing plywood. Many people don’t want to put it up, then

take it down for each storm scare. So often, they just do without it and “hope for the best.”

Armor Glass was recently approached by a major restaurant chain to put security film on their

coastal facilities. Why? Because they have to store the plywood for years at great cost – and then

hire contractors to put it up for a storm and then take it down afterward. With Armor Glass

security film they can get rid of the storage and labor costs – while they also cut energy use.

Much like hurricane-panel shutters, plywood can be dangerous to install at upper floor levels if a

person installing the plywood is using a ladder and the plywood catches the wind. Getting it

installed is not a one-person job. Trying to find help to put it up when a storm is approaching is

getting harder. Some companies have approached Armor Glass to install security film because

they have hundreds of stores in hurricane zones, and it’s costly to store plywood for all these

locations for years.

A quarter-inch, thick sheet of plywood left over from some home project may appear to be better

to use to protect a window than nothing at all, but that may not be the case if it flexes and breaks

to the point where the sheet becomes airborne debris. So they recommend three-quarters inch

plywood, which is even heavier.

Page 39: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

39

Installing heavy plywood on upper windows is a suicide mission at best. It also requires drilling holes in your exterior. Imagine

not having to put this up and take it down for each storm. If the house is made of adobe, it is

impossible to secure plywood to it without damaging it. With security film, installation is a one-time event, and it goes on the

inside of the glass, avoiding weathering issues.

When installing plywood as window protection, screws must be long enough to reach the studs

around a window and not just penetrate shingles or siding. In cases of stucco, there are no ways

to attach plywood or shutters without damaging the stucco.

Plywood view from the inside of a house. And if the electricity is out, the inside is DARK. Installation requires drilling holes in

your house (not possible if it is stucco.) It is dinosaur technology that should go the way of the horse and buggy.

In comparing costs of employing protective glazing solutions, consideration must be given to the

replacement costs of shattered glass if the installed technology operates as intended in holding

shattered glass intact. Replacing impact glass, for example, is much more expensive than

replacing regular glass and then adding security film to it.

Neither shutters nor plywood cut solar heat or save energy. Security film does. Neither shutters

nor plywood reduces harmful UV rays when not in place. Neither pays for itself over time.

Neither shutters nor plywood are carbon negative as security film is. Security film is applied

once and works 24/7, eliminating the need to make the risk of climbing a ladder to hang heavy

plywood on a second floor window in a high wind. One slip and you can end up in the next

county or the hospital.

Page 40: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

40

Once, while one of my crews was installing our security film for a retired manager of the

International Space Station who lives in Clear Lake, the man told me an interesting story. A

hurricane was approaching, so he was trying to get a piece of plywood up a ladder to a second-

story window. Somehow a gust of wind caused him to drop it. It landed right on a sprinkler head,

instantly producing a thirty foot gusher of water. Now he had two problems. I told him that

would make a great commercial! His reply: “It wasn’t very funny at the time.” He’s right, but it

made a great TV spot. I made a stimulation of his story into a thirty-second commercial, a copy

of which is on the website at www.ArmorGlass.com.

Since security film is installed on the inside of the glass, you can go up as many stories as the

building, without ladders or risk of falling. We have had homeowners trying to give us their

plywood after our installation so they could get their parking space back in their garage. (My

installers didn’t want it any more than I did.)

Project Safe Windows proposed: “The insurance industry should focus more on tracking and

reporting home damage due to failure of building openings such as windows. This analysis on

the amount of hurricane-related property damage due to building opening failures would likely

lead to greater use of protective glazing technologies.”

True. It went on to say:

“The government and financial institutions should offer low cost loans to home owners and

business owners who invest in protective glazing technologies. Discounts should reflect

effectiveness of technology.”

Page 41: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

41

A Final Word about Building Codes

It’s clear that all cities far from the coast should also upgrade their building codes. We are seeing

more extreme weather events—triple-digit heat, triple-vortex tornadoes, bigger and meaner

storms. Moore, Oklahoma; Joplin, Missouri; Hurricane Sandy, and Hurricane Ike are a few

examples of the threats we face. In 2013, the entire hurricane season was limited to the Pacific

Ocean, including the one that hit the Philippines that suffered from the strongest winds ever to

hit land in recorded history. What happens if next year or the year after those same storms hit the

Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico? Hail storms, golf balls, plant explosions, even the Russian

meteorite that blew out windows that injured over one thousand people are ongoing threats to

every building. So are shooters.

Yet our glass remains as fragile as it was thousands of years ago, unless we armor it to withstand

greater pressures from Mother Nature and from unwanted human forced entry.

Building codes should be updated so that building owners begin installing more security film and

less solar-only film, to protect the occupants and the contents from storm damage and human

intrusion, which are costly and drive up insurance premiums. Hurricane clips to hold roofs to the

support beams should also be installed. There would be fewer break-ins, less storm damage, and

fewer injuries and deaths from breached windows. It would pay for itself many times over, just

like safety glass has made cars safer.

As Project Safe Windows said so well:

“Building codes are in place to protect the public from natural hazards. Codes have evolved over

the years as technology has advanced. With new technology, people are able to build stronger

and safer buildings. The Protecting People First Foundation strongly endorses the use of the

safest possible building and glazing materials when building new structures or renovating

existing structures.

Building owners should be encouraged to bring properties up to code whenever possible to avoid

damage from hurricanes, However, if that step is not practical from a financial standpoint, or for

other reasons, these property owners should be encouraged to install some form of window

protection even if that protection falls short of meeting the most current and most stringent

building codes. The rationale for this statement is simple: some protection is better than none.”

Page 42: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

42

We at Armor Glass® agree with their conclusions.

States should also require insurance companies to give a discount for use of security film on

buildings—since it has prevented break-ins and resulted in loss prevention that is saving

insurance companies millions in losses from burglaries and storm damage.

Short History of Polycarbonate Security Film and How It Works

Like glass, security film is optically clear and highly transparent. Security film allows visible

light to pass through it, but unlike glass, it is not brittle and easily subject to breaking. In fact, it

is considered “elastomeric,” that is, having the ability to stretch.

Security film is applied to the interior surface of existing glass using extremely aggressive

pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive. It is applied just like solar film, with baby shampoo and

water, nothing toxic. The backing is pulled off to expose the adhesive. This adhesive and security

film combination helps hold together glass that is broken by some outside event.

Looking out a sliding glass door on which CLEAR Armor Glass® security film has been installed.

What is security window film? How does it protect people and buildings? Here is a photo of

what the CLEAR version looks like. The solar version looks like tint, but is four times thicker

and rated for impacts.

I have given numerous presentations to architects in Texas, and each time I ask up front: “How

many of you already know about security window film? Five years ago, no hands were raised. In

2013, five out of thirty four hands go up–so less than 20% of architects in Texas know about it

despite our advertising and trade show presentations. Florida seems to be the only state with

extensive knowledge about it.

A few years ago, I met a man who was from Northern Ireland. He told me that security window

films began being used there during the Irish Republican Army (IRA) car bombings in the 1970s.

Unlike today’s Al Qaeda, the IRA would call and give a couple minutes warning before setting

off a car bomb. A siren would sound, and he said, “Everyone would run away from the

windows,” which shattered and blew in from the blast concussion.

Page 43: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

43

A street in Northern Ireland in the ’70s hit by car bomb. This was the incentive to invent security film like Armor Glass

That story is confirmed by the International Window Film Association (IWFA):

“The first generation of Safety Film is believed to have been developed in the early 1970's [sic].

The product was developed for the British Government as a way to mitigate the deadly effects of

flying and falling glass in terrorist bombings that were rampant throughout England, Northern

Ireland and Europe.” Because of its success in the field, the product gained broader exposure and

awareness, leading to greater usage in Europe and other overseas markets.

For a long time, it remained a European product. According to IWFA: “In the United States,

where violent terrorism was generally unknown, interest in window film gravitated more towards

solar control films. In particular, attention rapidly began to focus on the automotive market and

small retail storefronts exposed to extreme sunlight and heat conditions primarily in Florida and

other southern ‘sunbelt’ states. Arizona, California, and Texas also contributed prominently in

the growth and interest in solar control films.”

All that was about to change in a BIG way. The real world was about to catch up with America

on 9/11. Like Pearl Harbor, it was a wake-up call for security.

Security Film began taking hold as a protective option in the US starting with Hurricane Hugo in

1989 and the earthquakes in California in that same year. Then in 1992, Hurricane Andrew

devastated Florida. That was followed by the first bombing of the World Trade Center in New

York in 1993 and the horrific truck bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City

in 1995. Hurricane Hugo hit South Carolina as a CAT 4 storm with 140 mile per hour winds,

causing ten billion in damages (in 1999 dollars!)

Page 44: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

44

Breaking glass to get in is no big deal. These rioters proved that. Note first man’s tool. Our film with frame bonding would have

kept them out even if he pounded his tool on the glass all day. (Film is on the inside; they are on the outside facing bare glass

spraying into their faces.)

Why use security film on glass?

The International Window Film Association describes it this way:

“Existing glass (excluding the laminated variety, and some types of tempered glass) was not

designed to resist windblown debris, earthquakes, explosions, terrorist bombs, vandalism,

forced entry, or any other host of events that produce undue stress on glass. Subject to such

stresses, glass often breaks into lethal shards and falls (or is blown) from the window frame

endangering building occupants and passersby, and also causes substantial property damage. In

addition, the interior of the building can suffer immediate damage from the broken glass and the

related aftermath of the glass breakage event (e.g. wind, dust, and water damage from the

exposed opening).” (Emphasis added.)

Glass broken by Hurricane Ike, Houston 2008. Author saw missing windows all across Houston—over 50 miles from the coast.

“Most current injuries from broken glass are caused by accidental glass breakage, with people

walking into, or through, a pane of glass. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported

that in 1991 there were over 150,000 glass related accidents in the US. Many more injuries go

unreported.”

With glass, it is always a question when it will break, not if. Anyone who has encountered broken

glass knows that it can cut deeply, sever an artery, and cause death or severe injury. The

development of tempered safety glass was an effort to reduce the injury from broken shards, but

even tempered glass fragments hurled through the air by a bomb blast or hurricane-force winds

can be lethal, as Project Safe Windows found.

Page 45: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

45

Glass is dangerous. IWFA sums it up: “Legislation mandating the use of the safer ‘tempered

glass’ did not come about until the mid 1970's. [sic] Compliance and enforcement of these

regulations took time to become effective. Consequently, there is still a vast amount of ‘unsafe

glass’ in many older commercial and residential buildings. Still, a lot of new glass being installed

today is of the weaker ‘annealed’ variety that is used in most glazing systems not covered by

safety regulations.

For example, in homes it is required that tempered glass (‘safety glass’) be used where there are

floor to ceiling glass windows, any glass doors, or glass panels next to doorways. However, glass

in all other windows in the home does not have to be tempered, and usually is not. Similar

requirements are mandated for commercial buildings and any glass areas exposed to heavy

pedestrian traffic.”

Hurricane IKE blew out windows from this Houston building

Security film (thick enough to offer breach resistance) did not get much attention in the United

States until the tragedy of 9/11 struck. It became clear that federal buildings needed more

protection from terrorist attacks. So in the year following the 9/11 attack, the government

contracted for installers all over the United States to converge on Washington DC to install over

one-half million square feet of security film on the windows of federal buildings in Washington

DC, from the Smithsonian to the Pentagon. They used the same film that Armor Glass® sells

today to clients around the United States.

Page 46: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

46

FBI building in Washington DC is one of many federal buildings on which the same security film that is sold by Armor Glass®

was installed after 9/11. It is also on the Pentagon.

So why use security film? Mankind is responsible for creating chaos and destruction on a large-

scale basis. Explosions from various causes, industrial, anti-social behavior, and terrorist

bombings claim thousands of lives and destroy countless millions of dollars of property

worldwide every year. We’ve seen explosions range from the West, Texas ammonium nitrate

explosion to the Boston bombing by terrorists. Security film has the ability to protect lives and

lessen property damage in virtually all kinds of manmade disasters, as well as from Mother

Nature.

In the commercial area, the smash-and-grab type of theft is popular. This is particularly true for

retail shops that display merchandise in a front window setting. Individuals use blunt instruments

to break the glass, or they throw items through the window. Once the glass is broken, the thief

grabs what he can as quickly as possible and departs the scene rapidly. Pharmacies are also

vulnerable since a crook or an addict wanting narcotics merely has to break some glass to get to

it.

Rioters breaking a Glass Wall in Asia—shutting down a conference.

The benefit of Security Film is that the film forms a barrier that delays penetration of the glass.

Security film, aka safety film, is probably best described, according to IWFA, by two names

given to it by the US Government: glass fragment retention film or anti-shatter film. The US

Army Corps of Engineers and the General Service Administration (GSA) developed these names

to describe the ability of security film to hold glass together in the event it is broken.

Page 47: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

47

Security Film is comprised of optically clear, tinted or reflective layers of polycarbonate film.

The immediate discussion will deal with the clear variety of security film with tinted or reflective

varieties known as solar security film.

Security window film comes in rolls up to 72" wide (100 feet long). It can be applied on larger windows by “abutting” the film,

which we did on 10' x 13' windows for a Chase Bank on Long Island, NY

The material is packaged in rolls of varying lengths and widths, ranging upwards to 72 inches, to

accommodate today's larger commercial size windows. (Normal sizes available are 36-, 48-, 60-,

and 72-inch widths in lengths of 100 feet.)

It can also be applied to oversized windows larger than 72", which results in a seam, which is

usually placed where it is the least visible. Security Film is usually retrofitted to existing glass in

window frames already in place. That means that it can be installed on the inside of existing

glass to armor it from breach.

Installing Armor Glass security film, Chase Bank, NY

Page 48: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

48

Occasionally, the film is applied on new glass before the glass has been installed. Typical film

installations cover the visible portion of the interior surface of the glass all the way to the edge of

the frame, but do not extend to the glass edge within the frame. (This is referred to as a daylight

installation.)

When properly installed, security film forms an almost invisible protective coating (membrane)

on the interior side of the glass surface. The film is attached to the glass with a wet process,

using baby shampoo and water, and is held in place with an extremely aggressive pressure-

sensitive adhesive. This adhesive is applied to the film at time of manufacture and is protected by

a release liner until installed. The installers then squeegee out the water, putting the adhesive in

contact with the glass. If there is a solar film already on the glass, it has to be removed first.

When stress causes the glass to break, the film has the ability to stretch and absorb some or all of

the energy generated by the stress. The result is that the broken glass may remain intact within

the framing system, preventing shards of glass from becoming lethal projectiles.

Security film on glass after an impact broke the glass, with no breach of the security film!

Clear security film is manufactured with single or multiple layers of clear polycarbonate film

laminated together in a variety of constructions. For example, a 4mil film is laminated to a 4 mil

film to produce an 8mil film, or three separate 4 mil films can be laminated to form a 12 mil

film. Generally speaking, the more layers or plies that a particular security film construction

contains, the greater its ability to uniformly absorb impact energy when the glass is broken—

until the film reaches its bursting point. Such a film has a higher manufacturing cost, as each

layer requires a separate production pass through the coating and laminating machinery.

In short, thicker is better when it comes to protecting a glass window from a breach by human or

nature.

The mounting adhesives used in thicker security films vary significantly from those used in the

normal, thinner solar control films. The basic difference between the two mounting adhesive

systems used between the two types of films can be described as follows: The mounting adhesive

Page 49: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

49

used for solar control films is designed to ensure that the film remains adhered to the glass. As

the film itself is very lightweight, it does not require a great deal of adhesive strength (peel

strength) to keep the film adhered to the glass surface.

Security films, however, are designed in a manner that in the event of glass breakage, the glass

remains adhered to the polycarbonate film substrate. Since there is a vast difference between the

weight of glass and film, the adhesive must be thicker and more aggressive (tacky) in order for

the broken heavy pieces of glass to remain attached to the film. The strength of the adhesive is

measured by its peel and shear strength, which is tested according to ASTM standards and listed

by most manufacturers in the specifications table that accompany most security film samples.

Solar+Security Film

Solar security film is a name gaining in favor for a relatively new category of Security Film that

offers significant solar heat (and UV-ray) control in addition to the standard protection benefits

of clear security film. These tinted films come in varying light transmissions and thickness.

Some are designed for double paned glass while the darker films can be used on single-pane

glass. We have even put it on low-E glass to cut the discomfort from solar heat while protecting

storm protection.

The film construction is similar to standard solar control film and features the same aggressive

adhesives as clear security film. However, with solar security film, the amount of solar heat

entering a building is substantially reduced, increasing thermal comfort by making the building

cooler and decreasing energy use, enough to eventually pay for itself over time!

Solar+Security Window Film was installed on Chambers County (Texas) Courthouse after Hurricane Ike, solving both their

hurricane security and solar heat problems at the same time! Before choosing Armor Glass® security film, they were considering

steel plates that would have destroyed the look of the historic building.

BASIC TEST STANDARDS

There are no tests required of thin solar film. All it does is block the sun. Some of it is made with

a dye that turns purple with age—very cheap stuff indeed! If you see purple film, it is solar film

made by a competitor. (It’s not ours!) Our film is metallic, and some of it is ceramic.

Page 50: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

50

However, there are several basic test standards required for security film: (1) human impact; (2)

forced entry; (3) fire tests; and (4) surface abrasion. Here is a brief summation of these tests and

what they mean.

Human Impact Test

Injuries from glass breakage have always been a major concern for people. That prompted the

US Government to initiate legislative action in the early 1970s to establish commercial building

codes requiring the installation of tempered glass, referred to by many also as safety glass, in

glazing systems exposed to high injury risk, e.g. doors of all types, windows (particularly floor-

to-ceiling), glass partitions, etc. Later, such codes extended installation requirements to include

residential buildings for such glazing systems as:

• Storm doors or combination doors

• Doors and sidelights (glass immediately adjacent to doors)

• Bathtub doors and enclosures

• Shower doors and enclosures

• Sliding glass doors

The safety requirements are designed to reduce or eliminate unreasonable risks of death or

serious injury to consumers when glazing material is broken by human impact. These human-

impact tests were developed by the federal government and adopted by the American National

Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1984 and became known as ANSI Z97.1 (1984).

This test standard attempts to simulate the effect of a certain size and weight individual walking

through a piece of glass roughly the size of a standard sliding glass door (34" x 76"). The test

involves releasing a leather bag filled with one hundred pounds of lead shot from a height of

twelve inches against a pane of glass mounted in a stationary framing system. At a distance of

twelve inches, the impact on the center of the glass pane is equivalent to one hundred foot-

pounds of impact per square foot.

This is a pass-or-fail test. If glass breaks after being impacted and the one hundred pound leather

bag does not penetrate the glass pane or cause a fissure in the glass that allows a 3" steel ball to

be passed through it, then the glazing system is deemed to have passed.

Forced Entry—Burglary Resisting Glazing Material Test—ASTM 1233 Level 1

Page 51: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

51

Glass windows don’t provide protection from thieves breaking storefronts

The ASTM test 1233, Standard Test Method for Security Glazing Materials and Systems,

modeled on the H.P. White Laboratories test procedure HPW-TP-0500 Transparent Materials for

Use in Forced Entry or Containment Barriers, includes blunt impacts from a sledge hammer,

pipe, and ram; sharp impacts from a chisel/hammer, angle iron/sledge, pipe, fire axe, and wood

maul; thermal attack from a fire extinguisher, propane burner, and acetylene torch, and chemical

attack from gasoline, windshield washing fluid and acetone.

Hermes (left)—No glass protection on their glass door vs. glass door (right) that had Armor Glass film installed prior to

attempted break-in.

Armor Glass® security films have passed all of these tests, in the laboratory testing and in real

life.

Surface Abrasion Test

Manufacturers utilize numerous types of scratch resistant coatings applied to the exterior surface

of the film to protect it from normal wear and tear and abuse by humans or by the natural

environment. The film is normally tested to ASTM D1044-94 (Test for Resistance of

Transparent Plastics to Surface Abrasion.) This is often referred to as the Taber Abrader Test, as

this is the name of the equipment used to perform the test. This device repeatedly scratches the

surface of the film, and after a certain amount of cycles the amount of haze (scratching) created

by the abrader mechanism is measured using a different test method and equipment. The

resultant haze is measured as a percent. While there is no pass-or-fail criteria, window film is

considered scratch resistant if the delta haze is 5% or less.

Page 52: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

52

Fire Testing

There are four primary fire tests that are recognized as necessary for meeting the requirements of

current building codes:

1) Flammability: ASTM D635-81

2) Surface Burning: ASTM E84-95b

3) Ignition Properties: ASTM 131929-91a

4) Smoke Density: ASTM D2843-77

These ASTM fire tests are test methods, and do not specify a pass or fail criteria. The results are

compared against control products and assigned a rating. The rating is then used to determine if a

product is suitable for its intended use or not. In the case of window film, this determination is

usually made by building codes, and would require that window film is a Class-A building

material.

Bomb Blast Protection

According to the International Window Film Association, during the 1990s, interest in glass

breakage mitigation shifted gradually from human impact to mitigating the effect of seismic,

severe windstorm, and bomb blast impact on glazing systems. This shift took the form of two

distinctly different, but parallel, courses involving bomb blast protection and protection from

natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

Page 53: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

53

A tornado in Atlanta blew out the CNN glass curtain wall.

As previously noted, injuries, loss of life, and property damage have occurred at an increasing

rate over the last few years. According to the FBI Bomb Data Center in Arlington, Virginia,

bombings of all types of buildings in North America increased by 20% per year throughout the

1980s and 1990s. The country is witness to a countless variety of small, improvised explosive

devices (lEDs) aimed at abortion clinics, state and federal buildings, small and big businesses,

and individuals. Bombs used for these types of purposes are neither extremely difficult nor

expensive to make. Information on how such bombs are made is widely available over the

Internet, and the materials are available from any major hardware store. And it’s not likely that

the threat from these homemade weapons will diminish in the future. If anything, they will

increase.

The bombing of the A. P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 resulted in 168 deaths,

including very young children in a day care facility located in the building. The force of the

bomb was so great that many nearby buildings had structural damage, and over one hundred

buildings within a ten-block radius suffered significant glass breakage. Ensuing rainstorms that

occurred twenty-four hours after the explosion significantly hampered rescue operations.

Similarly, many broken windows could not be boarded up in time, leaving building interiors and

valuable computer equipment exposed to the elements. Property damage, as well as loss of life,

was staggering.

Injuries and death from bomb blasts have long been attributed to the hazardous breaking of glass,

not only at or near the immediate point of the blast, but also in areas significantly removed from

the immediate blast site. The use of security film to mitigate such injurious scenarios had been an

established fact in many overseas locations in England, Europe, South Africa, and the Middle

East. In fact, the US State Department and Department of Defense had previously had many

buildings so outfitted. Armor Glass® recently installed our solar security film on a drug

enforcement building in Houston, Texas for that reason.

View of glass from inside Sandy Hook – Entrance doors are on the right

However, most commercial buildings have not prepared themselves for either a manmade attack

or a hurricane-force storm that could devastate their glass curtain walls and cause significant

injuries.

Page 54: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

54

The preferred and more recognized method for testing the performance level of glass fragment

retention is Open Air Arena Testing with large explosive charges and glazing systems mounted

in an enclosed reaction structure. Such tests are very expensive. However, this type of testing

more closely replicates the actual results of a bomb blast situation, as it would affect untreated

glass, laminated glass, and security film-treated glass, and other glass breakage mitigation

devices and techniques.

Armor Glass® security film has passed the GSA 3a/3b, Level 2 bomb blast specifications and has

been used on numerous government and commercial buildings.

Hurricanes/Earthquakes/Tornadoes

Hurricane Charley—One of four hurricanes that struck Florida in 2004.

Tornadoes are like condensed hurricanes, throwing debris though windows, creating deadly flying glass fragments.

Armor Glass® security film has passed the ASTM 1886/1996 Large Missile Impact Level “C”

(4.5 lb. missile) testing.

Large Missile Impact Test (against glass with security film)

Page 55: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

55

The bottom line is that security film provides a multipurpose benefit of cutting solar heat, cutting

damaging UV rays, while at the same time protecting a building and its occupants from breach of

its glass by hurricanes, tornadoes, large hail, bomb blasts, rioters, and burglars.

During Hurricane Ike in 2008, the staff at Rice University herded their dorm students from one

building to another, seeking a place of shelter and safety. Then they realized that they were no

safer in the new location for the same reason—exposure to broken glass.

Before Hurricane Ike, they had another problem. Ever since Weiss Dorm was built with single

pane glass in the ’70s, the rooms got so hot that the students had to throw open the doors to cool

off. The air conditioning couldn’t cool the rooms. Then with Ike, it was about security from

injuries caused by flying glass. During Ike, windows were lost on campus buildings from wind-

borne debris.

Weiss Dorm BEFORE Armor Glass® security film installed—Notice the “tin foil” on the windows. (Attempts by students to stay

cool.)

So Armor Glass® offered a solution that resolved both issues. We installed solar+security film on

Weiss Dorm’s windows and anchored it to the window frames with Dow 995 structural sealant.

The result was immediate. Students reported that their rooms were cooler and had less glare. And

with the security film installed, the same rooms allowed them to shelter in place during the next

storm event—the only building on the Rice campus that provided that protection from hurricane-

force winds.

Weiss Dorm AFTER Armor Glass® Security film installed.

Page 56: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

56

The other positive was that the energy savings from the tinted security film was enough to pay

for itself in about three years.

Security and Comfort

Our Armor Glass® security film provided a win-win for Rice University.

It could do the same for anyone from a homeowner to a business. It works 24/7. The commercial

warranty is twelve years. The residential warranty is a lifetime warranty for as long as the

homeowner owns the house. The film is warranted not to peel, fade, fall off, or change colors (as

some solar films have done through the years).

Are you prepared? In the next chapter find out how security film also protects from explosions,

burglars, and even school shooters.

Page 57: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

57

Chapter 4

Glass Protection Technology for Explosions, Burglars,

School Shooters and Accidents

Moore, OK hospital hit by EF5 tornado, May 2013—not a bit of glass left

EF5 Tornado

Lately, news reports have raised another potential threat—natural gas explosions. One recently in

Springfield, Massachusetts blew out windows in over forty buildings! Imagine the damage from

flying glass and the difficulty of putting plywood in open frames until the glass can be replaced,

leaving interiors dark and closed in.

Page 58: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

58

Windows blown out by explosion.

To see how it works, check out the two-minute video at the Armor Glass® website

(www.ArmorGlass.com). The final sequence shows the effect of a 500 lb. explosion 180 feet

away from a glass window. Without protection, the glass sprays the interior of the building.

Anyone caught in it would be shredded by the fragments. However, with Armor Glass® security

film installed with the black Dow 995 attachment holding it to the window frame, the film bows

in like a piece of expanding bubble gum. The glass is pulverized by the blast, so the only thing

preventing it from blowing in is the security film. The black circle around the edge is the Dow

995 holding the film to the frame.

We have received calls from pharmacies that have had narcotics stolen after someone broke a

glass window. We have installed the film in computer server rooms that were inches from glass

walls that could be breached by a storm—windows that let in triple-digit heat, which raises the

server operating temperatures.

We have put Armor Glass®

security film on houses next to golf courses, with golf balls

screaming by during the installation. Another homeowner had two golf balls hits on the same

pane of glass! She said that it was so great to come home and discover that there wasn’t glass all

over her kitchen, and the window was still sealed so rain or people would not get in until it was

replaced.

Golf ball hit on kitchen window—no breach, no glass to clean up, no weekend overtime for the window guy.

Page 59: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

59

One woman asked us to put the security film on just two windows of her house. I asked why she

wasn’t doing the rest of her ground-floor windows. She said they weren’t important. That was on

a Friday. Five days later, while she was out, someone tried to break through one of those double-

pane windows—and failed! When she got home, she found the outer pane had been broken and a

one-inch hole on the inner pane that had the film attached. Imagine that! Not having your home

violated and your stuff stolen. An insurance claim avoided. After that, she had us put security

film on all the rest of her windows, both downstairs and upstairs! She had gotten the message.

In Sugar Land, Texas recently, a couple was sitting in their two-million dollar house, which was

surrounded by a high wall. Two men jumped over the wall and threw a propane tank from the

barbeque grill through their bedroom window. In seconds, before they had a chance to react or

dial 911, the burglars were on top of them demanding cash and valuables. They were terrified.

Had our security film been on their windows, the propane tank hitting the glass would have made

a huge noise, but it would not have penetrated the window. The homeowners would have heard it

and had time to call 911, grab a gun, or all of the above. It would have given them precious time

to act while the bad guys struggled to get in.

What did they do? After getting a quote from us, they bought some cheap substitute from another

company to save a few hundred dollars. That’s called being penny-wise and a pound foolish.

Don’t make the same mistake. They will discover their error when the next event occurs, be it a

storm or a break-in. Then it will be too late.

Since most burglars are inside their targeted house or building no more than three minutes,

having an alarm system is only going to let you know that your stuff will be gone before you or

the police show up. How good is that?

Having a security film like Armor Glass® on the windows would blow their usual smash–and-

grab by delaying entry. By the time they got inside, the police could be there. Usually they will

give up and look for an easier target—they aren’t in an Olympic competition to overwhelm your

secured windows. There are plenty of other unprotected windows that will do just fine, so they

will move on to the next house that is easy to break into.

Impacted window with security film installed

In fact, we have had several occasions where burglars have tried to break through our film to

ransack a house. In each case. the homeowner told us that they never got through our film! They

may have broken the door or the lock, but the film was still holding. If they had an alarm system

activated, the bad guys would not have gotten away with jewelry, etc. In each case, the

Page 60: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

60

homeowner replaced the broken door with a better door and the broken lock with a better lock

and asked us to come put our security film on the new glass—they didn’t want to go without it!

Protection from Accidental Injury

Like an invisible shield, security films offer protection from broken glass when accidents occur

at home and at work. When ordinary annealed glass breaks, it poses considerable danger. The

shattered pieces become daggers that can cause serious injury or even death. Engineered with

powerful adhesives, security films reduce the hazard of broken glass by keeping the pieces

together and safely attached to the film.

One of our clients put security film on their home. Less than two months later a child ran into the

glass, and broke it! She was not injured because she hit the film; the broken glass was on the

outside. They simply replaced the glass, had new film installed and they would ‘good to go’

again.

Protection from Violent Weather When Mother Nature loses her temper, devastation and loss is sure to follow. Glass is always one

of the first casualties during a hurricane, tornado, hailstorm, or earthquake. During violent

weather when glass breaks, wind, rain and flying debris are given full access to your home or

office, causing property damage and destruction, including mold and the threat of stepping on

broken glass by kids, pets, etc.

Security films are Mother Nature’s match.

Page 61: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

61

Protection from School Shooters

School safety is an area I never expected to explore when Armor Glass was founded—protecting

schools from shooters. Armor Glass® has recently been called in to install security film on

schools after the Sandy Hook school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.

It makes sense.

Bare glass explodes with a single bullet. The shooter can enter within a second or two. With

security film installed—and bonded to the frames—a bullet will make only a bullet-sized hole.

The shooter must shoot enough times to form an opening big enough to get his body through the

opening and into the building. This extra work buys valuable time for the police to arrive and the

school to shelter the kids in a safe room.

Buying that time can make the difference between life and death. The only thing about security

film is that is can also come in tint shades, so that those inside the building can see a shooter or

suspect approach, while those on the outside cannot see into the school building.

Alarms, door locks, and security systems are helpful, but provide little protection from

experienced or determined intruders getting through glass. By the time police arrive, the crooks

will be gone or the shooter will have penetrated the building. With security films, intruders

cannot readily penetrate the glass, even by striking it with a heavy implement. Usually they

become discouraged and quickly depart for some easier target.

Page 62: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

62

Protection from Explosions

Bombs. Industrial explosions. Terrorist attacks. In an instant, an explosion can fire broken glass

fragments at lethal speeds. Research conducted after explosions points to flying and broken glass

as one of the main causes of death or injury. Armor Glass® security film is rated for a Level 2

explosion. We recently installed it on a drug enforcement agency building for that purpose.

While nothing can completely protect against powerful explosions from whatever sources,

security films have proven their effectiveness in these moments of extreme danger.

Vandals broke out these windows at a pool building “just for fun” Adding Armor Glass stopped it – no more glass in the pool

America’s Burglary Epidemic: How to Stop Break-ins

According to the statistics, within the United States, one in every six homes will be burglarized

in this year alone, resulting in an average loss of $1,675 per burglary and this doesn’t even take

in to account the trauma caused to the owners of the structure that is being burglarized.

A Secure Life reported that “According to the Eight United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and

Operations of the Criminal Justice System (2002) the United States led 68 countries in the

frequency of burglaries. The United States formed 26.9% of burglaries recorded, more than twice

that of the second place nation, Germany who compared with 13.2% of recorded burglaries. The

lowest incidence of recorded burglaries was found in Oman, where there were absolutely no

recorded incidences to speak of. The 26.9% of American burglaries recorded include only those

which were reported to the authorities.”

Page 63: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

63

One major pharmacy called Armor Glass® after three men broke in and in less than three minutes

had swept the shelves clean of narcotics.

Hurricane IKE even blow out glass in elevated walkways downtown Houston

Another lady lives in a subdivision that is surrounded by ten-foot walls. There is only one way

into their subdivision, and that entrance is controlled by security. Yet she told me that there have

been a number of break-ins in their neighborhood. It turns out that people find a way to get over

walls. And once they are at your house, it takes little effort to break through your weakest link—

your windows.

Rioters breaking glass at British Embassy in London.

Page 64: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

64

Here are some statistics:

Reports by the FBI claim an estimated 3.7 million household burglaries occurred each year on

average from 2003 to 2007:

28% of burglaries involve people at home: good doors and windows prevent violent

crime

In 7% of all household burglaries, a household member experienced some form of violent

victimization

Burglary accounted for 21.2 % of the estimated number of property crimes committed in

2005.

The average dollar loss per burglary offense in 2005 was $1,725.

65.8 % were of residential structures.

62.4 % of residential burglaries in 2005 for which time of occurrence was known took

place during the day, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Among burglaries of nonresidential structures when time of occurrence was known, 58%

occurred at night.

A burglary takes place in the US every 14.6 seconds.

Overall, in about 84% of all burglaries, the offender gained entry into the victim’s

residence or other building on the property.34 % of burglars entered through the front

door.

23 % entered through a first-floor window.

22 % entered through the back door.

9 % entered through the garage.

4 % entered through a basement.

4 % entered through an unlocked entrance.

2 % entered through a storage area.

2 % entered anywhere on the second floor.

Burglars spend no more than sixty seconds breaking into a home.

Burglaries can occur at any time of the day during any day of the week, but most commonly they

occur between the hours of 10 am and 3pm.

Page 65: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

65

Solar film won’t keep out burglars or hurricane-force winds.

Burglar bars are ugly, scare visitors. and are a trap in event of a fire.

My advice to homeowners: do ALL of the ground floor windows for burglar protection, then the

upstairs windows for storm protection. Don’t do one or two windows since that doesn’t solve the

problem—who knows which window they will choose.

On average a thief wants to spend no more than one minute breaking into a single home, so

making your home more difficult to enter is important. Therefore the more difficult you make

your home for a burglar to enter, the less likely they are to target your house in their crime.

Page 66: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

66

Bottom Line: Armor Glass®

Security Film will protection your home and family from burglars,

solar heat, hurricanes, tornadoes, shooters, golf balls, hailstorms, vandals—everything but rude

salespeople!

Page 67: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

67

Chapter 5

Saving Energy = Saving Money: Enough to Pay for Itself

Going GREEN with Security

What is Armor Glass Green Security Film? It’s a product that saves energy but also provides

security for a building’s occupants. It also produces one to four LEED credits, as explained

below. Most LEED-certified buildings that I have inspected have done nothing about their

windows! They could blow out tomorrow.

Architects should take note for obvious safety- and energy-saving reasons.

Over 40% of a building’s energy is lost through its windows. Yet treating windows to cut solar

heat and while also providing protection from breakage remains almost forgotten by architects

and owners, although it offers the most “low hanging fruit” for improving a building’s

performance and habitability. Most energy incentive programs focus only on thin solar film,

saving energy but still leaving the building vulnerable to break-ins and storm damages from

window breaks.

Here is a diagram of what sunlight does on a normal window:

Now compare that to a window that has Armor Glass®

film attached:

The window with the film attached reflects back 50% (up to 79%) of the solar radiation. That

means that there is 50% less heat getting into your building that you have to air condition, which

saves on your energy bill.

In fact, it saves up to 30% on energy use, enough to pay for itself over time.

At the same time it cuts 99% of harmful UV rays that are not screened out by ordinary glass. UV

light destroys furniture, draperies, carpets, and your prized possessions–UV rays will turn all of

them into faded remnants of their original selves. That leads to more costs from frequent

Page 68: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

68

replacement of floors and carpets, curtains, and everything that sunlight touches directly or

indirectly.

Compared to replacing windows, the embodied carbon of Armor Glass® films is at least thirty

times less than new windows. In addition to saving energy, our architectural solar-control

window films have a net positive environmental impact worldwide.

Designing energy efficiency into buildings and structures is the fastest growing trend in the

construction industry. Armor Glass® provides a solution for architects and building owners by

offering a wide range of window films to solve common building envelope issues, including hot

spots, glare, interior fading, and safety.

All buildings, new and existing, applying for LEED certification must meet the EPA ENERGY

STAR® rating of at least 60. The energy-saving benefits of window film can help companies

achieve the initial rating of 60, and it also can provide additional LEED credits once the

baselines are met. Solar energy-saving window film is covered by the LEED for Existing

Buildings Certification. Details can be found in the USGBC LEED for Existing Buildings

Reference Guide, version 2.0, available through the USGBC website.

Armor Glass® is a member and supporter of USGBC.

Quoting the International Window Film Association: “The sun sends energy to the earth in the

form of electromagnetic radiation or energy waves. The energy is in the form of visible radiation

(normal daylight) and invisible radiation (infrared solar heat and ultraviolet radiation.) Roughly

44% of the sun's radiant energy is received in the form of visible light. Invisible infrared solar

heat radiation accounts for approximately 53% of the sun's energy, and the remaining 3% is in

the form of invisible ultraviolet or UV radiation.

Page 69: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

69

“Unshaded windows can account for over 40 percent of a home or office air conditioning cost,

according to studies conducted by Southface Energy Institute. Basic solar control films are

designed to control heat gain through glazing systems to reduce energy consumption. Depending

on the climatic environment and window configuration, industry studies conducted by the IWFA

and the U.S. Department of Energy predict a payback in energy savings within four years.

(Added labor installation costs and higher product costs will increase the payback period for

Security Film featuring solar control properties.)”

UV Reduction

Unsightly to look at, but this is skin cancer caused by UV rays.

Security films screen out 99% of these harmful rays that also fade furnishings.

All security films, both CLEAR and SOLAR types, are able to reject nearly all UV radiation

(generally 99%). The rejection of UV radiation is accomplished through the use of UV

absorbers. These UV absorbers are used to prevent the sun's rays from degrading the

polycarbonate film and adhesives that are used to laminate the layers of polycarbonate film

together. UV absorbers can be present in either the adhesives and/or be impregnated in the base

(substrate) polycarbonate film. While the UV absorbers work to protect the window film itself,

they also provide protection against fading to interior furnishings and fabrics.

LEED Credit for Light Pollution Reduction

Page 70: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

70

Light pollution reduction, also known as “light trespass,” is covered by credit 7 under the

Sustainable Sites goal. Light trespassing occurs when lighting used within the building is visible

at certain levels in the surrounding external environment. To qualify for this LEED credit, most

of the internal light must fall within the building. Luminosity measurements are taken outdoors,

with all lights off, and again with all the lights on. A LEED credit is achieved if the outdoor

illumination level does not increase more than 10% than levels with the lights on.

Armor Glass film window (right) cuts light pollution and glare.

Installing solar-control window film will result in a lower amount of visible light transmission

(VLT) through the windows. Window films have varying degrees of visible light transmission,

and films with lower VLT ratings will greatly reduce light trespass from the building. When

choosing a film, you can consider the amount of likely light trespass in advance and select

specific films with a given target in mind. For example, Stainless Steel 50 can cut light trespass

from a window in half.

LEED Credit for Glare Reduction

Under the Environmental Quality category (EQ 8.2), a credit can be achieved for “providing for

glare control features for all windows where direct penetration of sunlight would interfere with

normal occupant activities.” This is a goal that works in conjunction with the light pollution

requirement in Sustainable Sites Credit 7 for light trespass. This requirement can be met by

applying window films with a VLT low enough to meet occupant requirements for glare-free

activity. For example, Stainless Steel 50, which reduces light trespass, will have the added

benefit of glare reduction. Applying this film can eliminate unwanted glare on computer screens

and maintain an internal glare-free environment, allowing you to pursue both light trespass and

glare reduction credits in a single application.

See the photos below for a look at its glare reduction properties:

Page 71: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

71

This is a before and after shot of the same window. On the left, the BTU reading before we installed Armor Glass® solar security

film was over 100, with a lot of unpleasant glare. On the right is the same window after installing our film. The BTU dropped

70% with this particular film—and the glare is gone (note that the sun BTU readings are constantly changing between

photogrpahs so the difference appears greater than 70%.) The owner of this building was paying $5,000 a month before we

installed our film. With 70% of the incoming heat rejected, his energy savings were tremendous—and he now has armored his glass from vandals, burglars, and hurricane-force winds.

LEED Credit for Thermal Comfort

Improving and maintaining thermal comfort for one LEED credit is an option under section EQ

7.1 of the certification program. The performance measurements are the same as those for the

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

Standard 55-2004. ASHRAE 55-2004 is a thermal comfort standard that outlines requirements

for documenting a space as appropriately thermally comfortable for the occupants. The credit can

be met by demonstrating compliance with data logging temperatures (7.6.2.2) or by survey,

where at least 80% of building occupants must consider themselves comfortable in the building

climate (#7.6.2.1.). This includes mitigating “local discomfort” (5.2.4) and reducing temperature

variations with time (5.2.5.).

Solar heat transmitted through untreated windows is often the cause of local discomfort.

Occupant complaints about excessive heat or hotspots can be completely mitigated by applying

high performance, solar-rejecting window films (as referenced in section 5.2.4.). Solar control

Page 72: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

72

window film excels at moderating temperature variations over time, greatly improving thermal

comfort (as referenced in 5.2.5.).

For example, here is a BTU reading of heat coming through an ordinary window on a hot

summer day:

Now, here is a BTU reading from the same window after Armor Glass® security film has been

applied—

BIG difference! Now, the occupants are COOLER and the air conditioner has to deal with 70%

less heat coming through the glass. Before our Armor Glass® security film was installed, the

building owner was paying $5,000 month in electricity costs! Even if the power reduction was

only 30%, the savings is substantial.

In addition, the owner does not have to worry about vandals or burglars breaking in after hours

or having to board up for a hurricane. In fact, the owner is also secure from freak weather such as

the hailstorms that hit Houston in January, 2012.

Page 73: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

73

LEED Innovation Credits

There is also an innovation category for up to four extra LEED credits that you can apply for by

making a case that a chosen building upgrade, not currently covered under the LEED for

Existing Buildings standard, has improved the environment of the building.

There are two ways that window film can be used to apply for the innovation credits. One way is

to apply for a credit based on the environmental benefits provided by blocking ultraviolet

radiation through solar control window film. Window film blocks 99% or more of harmful UVA

and UVB rays, which contribute to skin damage and skin cancer, and are the leading factor

causing fading to interiors. A second eligible credit could be earned if fade reduction can be

applied to reducing waste or improved building maintenance, as specified in the Materials and

Resources section of the standard.

ENERGY STAR Rating

Armor Glass® film is an “Energy Star” product.

Installation of Armor Glass®

window film is included under the Energy Efficiency Building

Retrofit Program, which was designed to help public entities lower their energy consumption.

The beauty of window film is that it can be sized to fit any glass door or window, making it an

essential measure for government- and privately-owned buildings that are often historic and

frequently characterized by oversized windows. Now, all organizations that have committed to

reducing their carbon footprint can easily and cost-effectively fit window film into an overall

strategy to reduce CO2 emissions.

Armor Glass window film provides an ideal solution for all facility managers, environmental

service companies, and municipal and state leaders who have pledged to reduce CO2 emissions.

Building owners are often encouraged to upgrade their existing windows. However, replacing

windows is a very costly project, in terms of expense, time for implementation, and disruption to

ongoing business activities. Even if you install new windows, you will still need to put Armor

Page 74: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

74

Glass® security film on the new windows unless they are impact glass, which cost three to five

times more than security film per square foot.

Installing Armor Glass® film on existing windows is a cost-effective alternative that can be

accomplished quickly and professionally, without interrupting business operations or disturbing

building occupants.

With the ever-increasing threat of terrorism, severe weather, and burglary--all leading candidates

to wreak havoc and cause glass breakage--Armor Glass® offers a range of clear, energy-efficient

safety and security films. These films combine a barrier against these threats with very powerful

energy savings. It’s a win-win for the building owner and occupants.

Page 75: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

75

Chapter 6

Final Thoughts and Conclusions

On 9/11, I was called into a TV station in Houston to act as their terrorism analyst. Why me?

Because in the early 90’s I wrote a “fiction” book based on my Middle East experience about the

potential for a terrorist attack on the United States. In the middle of my book, Saddam invaded

Kuwait. After the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York (that killed six) I

produced a TV program about the potential of an attack on the U.S. by terrorists with a weapons

expert from the Reagan administration. No one listened. I wrote about it in my book referenced

below entitled “Better Times Ahead April Fool” and segments of my TV appearances are posted

on YouTube under my name.

I spent the entire day on 9/11 in that TV studio watching the newsfeed and giving my thoughts

on what was happening. Frankly, we had no idea what was really happening, or that it was

Osama bin laden, until days later.

Perhaps because of all these experiences—and having lived through tornadoes as a kid in Iowa

and hurricanes as an adult in Texas, that I decided to investigate technologies that would protect

people more than me talking on TV. When I discovered security film had been installed on the

DC federal buildings, from the Smithsonian to Congress to the Pentagon, I founded Armor

Glass® to focus on providing the best solution for protection of the most vulnerable component

of every building in the world.

Then I discovered that not many companies provided this type of protection. Most focus on

cheap solar film or other technologies that are more expensive. I also found that few installers

had the desire and know how to apply the “Dow 995” frame bonding because it is tricky to work

with.

I also discovered that few people even knew about the technology, including the architects and

political leaders of cities and states. I found little had been written about it either. That is why I

put together this book. It’s not perfect, but it does explain how structures are vulnerable and how

to upgrade them for energy savings, our safety and security at the same time.

As the earth warms and the climate gets hotter, no matter what the cause (human or natural), the

universal consensus is that storms will get bigger and more violent. Warmer air leads to higher

winds and bigger rains. Hurricanes become more intense. Unprotected glass will remain the

biggest “Achilles heel” of every building – the weakest point that is easiest to breach.

Page 76: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

76

The all-too-often “solution” of cheap solar film to fight the heat from the sun is no protection

from the ongoing hazards our buildings will face forevermore. Hotter days and windborne debris

breaking cheap glass will continue until owners become proactive. Educate yourself. Don’t be a

victim. Have a plan and a solution.

Frankly, we can’t safety live in houses of “straw” (as in the case of the Three Little Pigs) or even

houses of wood as storms grow in size and intensity. Personal security from break-ins will

continue as a fact of life. People can reduce and eliminate that threat if they know about their

technological choices.

Armor Glass security film is the best solution to “armor your glass,” in order to update a

technology older than dirt and is the weakest link of every building. Armor Glass protects your

biggest investment. It protects your family like nothing else available—at the least cost of all the

options.

Clear Armor Glass security film—invisible shutters, invisible burglar bars. Notice the clarity of the flag. And even the clear film

is screening out 99% of UV rays.

It’s the only solution that pays for itself in energy savings as it is providing security 24/7.

Last year the earth recorded the strongest hurricane winds ever recorded. It’s time to upgrade this

five-thousand-year-old technology to deal with twenty-first-century threats.

We are building and living in glass palaces in the middle of hurricane, earthquake, and tornado

strike zones. How do we economically protect ALL THAT GLASS? I have yet to find any other

alternative that makes more economic or protective sense.

The Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared” fits. Pilots are trained to replace parts before they break to

avoid unpleasant surprises. Home and building owners can do the same.

Page 77: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

77

This is laminated glass. It also breaks—and is more expensive to replace than using plain glass with Armor Glass® security film

on the new window.

While laminated glass, known as “impact glass,” can be an option, it is not practical or

affordable in most cases. It’s a much more expensive option and difficult, since you have to

replace existing windows and frames to install it. That doesn’t happen with Armor Glass—we

apply the film on top of the existing glass, to armor it.

Most laminated windows are extremely heavy; some are hard to see through. Another big

drawback: laminated windows can’t be very large due to weight.

Shutters are up to ten times more expensive to install and require annual maintenance. Unless

deployed, they provide zero burglar security and no UV protection or solar heat reduction.

Plywood is heavy and ugly. It requires an act of God to install without breaking your neck. It

should go the way of the dodo bird.

Chase Tower, Houston, after Hurricane IKE

Security film provides the same protection without having to require any construction or window

changes. It armors what you already have, for a lot less cost. It is the most cost effective,

practical way to armor the glass, whether it’s single-pane, double-pane or even low-e glass. It

doesn’t matter if the windows are ten feet wide or a hundred feet long—Armor Glass security

film can protect them from being breached in the next catastrophic event.

Page 78: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

78

At the same time, it can save enough energy to pay for itself and cut the uncomfortable solar heat

and damaging UV rays that regular glass does not.

Armor Glass security film is a win-win for residential and commercial building owners, cutting

up to 79% of the solar heat entering a building through the windows, and reducing energy

consumption up to 30 percent. That puts money back into the owner’s pocket. After a few years

it is making the owner money, especially as energy costs continue to rise in the future. What

other investment have you made that does that? I know my car doesn’t.

That’s what makes the Armor Glass security solutions the only sensible choice. It is a

multitasking technology instead of a one-trick pony. It is carbon negative, saving more energy

than it takes to make our security film products. It protects your family and puts extra cash in

your pocket. It’s a fact, Jack.

UV rays blocked by security film will result in savings by avoiding the need to replace valuable

furnishings as well as antiques inherited from Aunt Mabel or on display in museums.

The federal government used to give a $1,500 credit to install it and other green products, but

Congress let that incentive lapse. It should be reinstated. Insurance companies should offer a

discount for its use since it would dramatically cut their losses. All states, cities and counties

should institute tax or insurance incentives to install this life-saving, twenty-first-century

technology to make glass stronger and safer while cutting energy use. Improved energy

efficiency from security film could even reduce the number of power plants needed by over 50

percent in coming years, further reducing carbon emissions.

It’s a win-win technology for consumers and building owners alike. What is it worth to protect

your family?

Be prepared. Armor Your Glass.

Check out the Armor Glass®

website for details at www.ArmorGlass.com. The videos on it

show how it works and how easy it is to break bare glass.

Follow us on Facebook.

And check out our Armor Glass blog for updates at http://armorglass.blogspot.com/.

The life or property you save may be your own.

Page 79: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

79

Page 80: Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from ... file1 Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood Armoring Your Glass from Hurricanes, Burglars, Shooters, and Solar Heat A Green+Security™

80

About the Author

Michael Fjetland (pronounced fet-land) grew up on a farm in Iowa before moving to Texas

during high school. After attending Texas colleges (UT ’72) and law school (Texas Tech ’75) he

started his professional career as a Fortune 500 international legal negotiator (in over fifty

countries so far.)

After a layoff in the ’80s, Michael, became a terrorism analyst on TV in Houston, Texas during

the Gulf War in 1991 and since 9/11 (some of the videos are on YouTube at this link). Based on

that experience, Michael founded Armor Glass International, Inc. to provide security technology

to protect the weakest link of every building—glass—from Mother Nature and human intruders.

Michael has developed and taught an AIA-approved course entitled “Green Plus Security: A

Carbon Negative Technology to Armor Your Weakest Link.”

He is also the author of Better Times Ahead April Fool, a true, global adventure story of “rags to

riches” -- surviving losing it all after a layoff and reinvention.

The final chapter is about how to make the U.S. number one again, entitled “Agenda for

American Greatness,” (which is free and periodically updated at the weblink).

Details at: www.BetterTimesAheadAprilFool.com