It’s transparent—but blocks heat?! Fujifilm’s amazing near-infrared reflective film

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You probably know that film can block ultraviolet rays. But did you know that it’s also possible to make a film that blocks infrared rays? Fujifilm’s done exactly that with its near-infrared reflective film. According to experimental results, when heat-blocking film incorporating Fujifilm’s near-infrared reflective function is placed on windows facing west, the temperature around the window can drop as much as 6.5 °C!

The secret comes from silver, which is the key material in photographic film. Fujifilm has researched silver nanotechnology for many years, resulting in the development of silver particles that can block infrared rays. Leveraging its ability to place a very thin and even coating of silver on film, Fujifilm developed a revolutionary film that is extremely transparent yet selectively blocks infrared radiation.

Sunlight is composed of 46% visible light, 6% ultraviolet light, and 48% infrared light. Since nearly half of the energy of sunlight takes the form of infrared rays, wouldn’t a film that can block a large portion of this heat be useful? Fujifilm’s near-infrared reflective film does that—and it blocks ultraviolet rays as well! Moreover, since most visible light passes through the film, it doesn’t darken what it covers, and the view through the window remains crystal-clear. Electromagnetic waves can still pass through, so mobile phone reception remains as good as ever too. Fujifilm’s near-infrared reflective film can be used in homes, office buildings, trains, and buses—with many more applications yet to be imagined!

Fujifilm is also currently developing a heat-blocking film that incorporates the near-infrared reflective function. It has a screening coefficient of less than 0.70, which means that it blocks over 30% of the heat from sunlight. Simply putting it on a window helps reduce the temperature of the room, making it an easy way to conserve energy. After proving the efficacy of this film in Japan, where power shortages are common in the summer months, Fujifilm plans to market it wherever hot weather is an issue. Going forward, Fujifilm’s incredible heat-blocking film has the potential to help conserve energy worldwide!

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