Whether for a vehicle, home or commercial application when referring to window tint film, one of the most important characteristics is how much light the tint allows to pass through.

1. UNDERSTANDING
WINDOW TINT VISIBLE
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
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Whether for a vehicle, home or commercial application when referring
to window tint film, one of the most important characteristics is how
much light the tint allows to pass through. In most applications, this is
important when attempting to gauge how much security, privacy and
protection from heat and harmful UV rays a tint offers. In automotive
applications, however it is especially critical as a number of states
have laws limiting how dark the tint can be on a vehicle’s windows. As
a result, window tinting manufacturers have created a method for
calculating how much light a window tint allows to pass through it.
However, there are a few things to consider when discussing the
darkness of a window tint.

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 Regardless of the application, all window tint film is measured by the materials visible light
transmission levels (VLT).
 The VLT value is the percentage of visible light the tint allows through from the exterior of
a vehicle, building or home to the interior. The lower the VLT percentage, the darker the tint is
and the more outside light it blocks.
 A window tint that has a VLT value of 5% indicates that the window film only permits 5% of
the exterior light to pass through it, while a film with a 50% VLT value allows 50% of the light
from outside to pass through.
 In addition, because window tints are also offered in a variety of colors when
professionals are referring to a tint they typically identify it by the tint’s color and VLT value.
For example, a charcoal colored tint with a VLT of 5% is known as charcoal 5%. Likewise, a
green colored tint film with a VLT of 50% is called green 50%.

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 While many might assume that the VLT of a window tint is the only factor to consider
when calculating the final VLT of installed window tint, there is one additional aspect that must
be considered.
 Every piece of glass, regardless of the application, blocks a certain amount of light. As a
result, glass also has its own VLT value, which must be accounted for in order to determine
the installed window tint’s final VLT value. For example, if a state law indicated that the lowest
legal VLT value for a tinted car window was 30% and an individual were to install a window
tint with a 30% VLT rating, the windows final VLT rating would actually fall below the legal limit
because of the window’s natural VLT value.
 Because of this, window tinting professionals use a simple formula to calculate the
installed window tint’s final VLT value:
V1 (VLT value of glass) x V2 (VLT value of tint) = V3 (final VLT value)

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 Let’s assume, for example, the legal limit for the window tint of a vehicle is 30% and the
vehicles glass has a VLT value of 75%. In this case, since we already know the VLT value of
the window and the final VLT value we want to achieve we simply need to rearrange the
formula to calculate the proper tint to install as follows:
V3 (final VLT value) ÷ V1 (VLT of glass) = V2(VLT value of tint)
0.30 (30%) ÷ 0.75 (75%) = .40 (40%)
 According to this formula, installing a window tint with a VLT value of 40% will result in a
final VLT value of 30% as desired. Professional installers using this formula save their
customers a significant amount of money not only in traffic tickets for illegally tinted windows,
but also in the reinstallation of window tint which most traffic courts require when a driver
receives a ticket for illegally tinted windows.

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