The Florida Sun vs. Your Car’s Interior: The Shielding Power of UV-Protective Auto Glass

Also referred to as the Sunshine State, Florida boasts of a warm climate and beautiful, pristine beaches, which attract many visitors worldwide. But, unfortunately, for your car, it is a war against a sun-damaged car interior. 

Constant sun exposure may cause far more damage than simply drying out car body paint and eventually discolouring it. Sunlight’s UVA and UVB rays can harm exposed paint, materials, and most critically, human skin. This is where UV-protective auto glass can come to your rescue. 

 

This guide will explain how constant sun exposure damages your car interiors, how UV-protective auto glass shields your car better.

How Does Florida’s Sun Damage Your Car’s Interior?

The intense Florida sun can penetrate normal auto glass and quickly damage your car’s interior in the following ways:

Bending and Cracking

Continuous exposure to sunlight may lead to cracks on dashboards and bent plastic parts. This, in turn, reduces your car’s resale value significantly.

Faded Upholstery

Constant exposure to the harmful UV rays bleaches fabrics and leather, thus making your shiny seats and armrests dull and worn-out.

Hotter Interiors

According to Audi Gainesville, the interior of your car can reach 104 °F in just 30 minutes on a day with 70 °F when exposed to sunlight for extended periods. When the temperature rises to 80-100 °F, the interior temperature of your car can shoot up to 130-172 °F.

Such high temperatures can further impact the air conditioning capability and increase fuel consumption.

Damage to Electronic Components

Excessive heat due to prolonged exposure to solar radiation damages sensitive electronic components like chips and batteries.

Therefore, consider UV-protective auto glass to shield your vehicle from the above-mentioned issues. It helps keep the interior of your vehicle consistently cooler, even after hours of exposure to the sun. Let’s find out how.

Understanding UV-Protective Auto Glass

Although glass naturally blocks UVB radiation, it cannot restrict the severely damaging UVA rays. UV-protective auto glass fits the bill.

It prevents 99% of the damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays emitted by the sun from penetrating it, owing to the UV-resistant coating. Such a special coating is achieved through the incorporation of unique molecules that can either absorb or reflect UV rays whenever sunlight hits a material’s surface.

In this manner, UV-protective auto glass does not allow the radiation to penetrate inside and cause damage, hence reducing the degree of sun-damaged car interiors.

Now, let’s dive deeper into the benefits of using UV-protective glass.

Benefits of UV-Protective Auto Glass in Hot Climate

UV-protective auto glass protects both the exterior and interior parts of your car. As far as the interiors are concerned, it offers the following advantages:

1. Reduces fading and cracking: Shields solar radiation to prevent fading, cracking, and bending, thus protecting from sun-damaged car interiors.
2. Lowers heat accumulation: Keeps the interiors cool by filtering UV rays to ensure your car’s air conditioning system works optimally, thus saving a considerable amount of fuel.
3. Improved safety: Preserves the integrity of safety features like airbags and other Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS calibration) that rely on undamaged glass for optimal performance.
4. Protects electronic parts: Prevents heat-related damage to fine electronic components, thus increasing their lifespan.
5. Boosts visibility: Reduces glare, thus making it easier and safer to drive.

Comparing UV-Protective Auto Glass to Regular Auto Glass

Lets find out how UV-protective auto glass differs from normal glass.

Parameter	UV-Protective Auto Glass	Regular Auto Glass
UV-Protection	Provides a high level of protection (up to 99%) against UV rays	Lets damaging UV rays get through without blocking them
Coatings	Has specialized high-performance soft and hard coatings that reflect solar heat	Lacks specialized coatings, resulting in UV damage and reduced indoor comfort levels
Durability	Possess a longer lifespan since it is resistant to UV-induced deterioration, hence enhanced performance	Prone to UV-induced deterioration and heat stress, requiring frequent replacements and higher energy expenses
Cost	Expensive	Economical
Glare	Reduces eye strain by minimizing solar glare, thus enhancing visibility	Cannot reduce glare, thus leading to eye irritation and reduced visibility

 

Is UV-Protective Auto Glass Worth the Investment?

Purchasing UV-protective auto glass makes sense given prolonged solar exposure in Florida, which further increases the possibility of interior automobile damage. If you’re someone who drives very frequently across Florida, then installing a UV-protective windshield is a no-brainer.

The advantages of keeping your car looking newer and more comfortable and reducing heat buildup and strain on electronic components outweigh the costs involved. Moreover, most insurance companies cover auto glass repair & replacement services as part of the base policy or an add-on.

Conclusion

In Florida, where the sun shines virtually year-round, avoiding sun-damaged car interiors requires you to take proactive measures to shield your vehicle from the sun. With UV-protective auto glass, you can shield your vehicle from harmful UV rays, preserve the interior shine, and maintain cooler temperatures.

If you’re looking for vehicle auto glass repair or considering getting a UV-protective auto glass installed in and around Florid, consider Nuvision Auto Glass. Whether you need windshield repair & replacement or side window repair & replacement services, our expert technicians are here to help you.

Get quotes now!