Pano roof heat rejection

I have photosync 75% installed on my windshield and the factory tint on my pano. On a 90-degree plus day, the pano gets too hot to comfortably hold my hand against, but the windshield is much cooler. I'm considering getting additional tint on my pano.

strengthcoach4 said:

I didn't think there was film on the pano from the factory. I'm thinking I'm going to have 3M installed.

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The "film" is between the layers of safety glass.

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strengthcoach4 said:

Anyone else notice an increase in heat coming through the pano roof? The past 2 summers I did not notice much heat but today it's really coming through. I also have the shade screens installed.

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Haven't noticed all that much heat from mine (also in it's third summer).

There is new window tint material that is clear , yet blocks out about 90% of the heat. I'm getting it put on my front windshield tomorrow. I had ceramic tint put on the other windows. (I don't have a sunroof).

Mother Frunker said:

There is new window tint material that is clear , yet blocks out about 90% of the heat. I'm getting it put on my front windshield tomorrow. I had ceramic tint put on the other windows. (I don't have a sunroof).

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Are you putting it on the back window as well? That one would be a huge heat source.

My tint installer would not put tint on the panoroof due to the theoretical risk of shattering the panoroof in high heat. Anyone hear similarly?

tint on the pano which was done at the Dania SC

Sosius said:

I have photosync 75% installed on my windshield and the factory tint on my pano. On a 90-degree plus day, the pano gets too hot to comfortably hold my hand against, but the windshield is much cooler. I'm considering getting additional tint on my pano.

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Sosius, your experience bolsters a point that I raise a long time ago that additional tinting on the pano roof would aid in keeping the cabin cool and comfortable.

we tinted the pano also. when we first got the car, my kids and i could feel the heat on our foreheads and scalp which bugged me a lot. i also tended to squint even on cloudy days because of the glare coming from up top. after tinting a few days later, there was no such heat or glare. the tinting does make it darker to look through, so the sky and clouds aren't as blue and white, but the heat and glare rejection are worth it IMHO.

I might no get pano in my next tesla. It gathered more heat than I originally thought. It was unbearable to touch. I'm a tall person and the heat was pretty hot up there. I do have the pano shade, which helped somewhat.

commasign said:

My tint installer would not put tint on the panoroof due to the theoretical risk of shattering the panoroof in high heat. Anyone hear similarly?

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There have been a couple of posts like that, but the pano glass is the same as windshield glass (safety glass) so I don't see the problem. I've never seen a post where shattering the roof actually happened. On the other hand there's very little heat that comes in through the roof as delivered.

I have photosync 35% on sides and back and 90% (I think or whatever is the most clear) on the front. Pano is stock. A ton of heat comes in when parked in the sun during the day but it makes a world of difference in the comfort of the car. If I was to do it all over again I'd go 20% on the sides and back and maybe 90% clear on the front and pano
There is heat rejection on the pano. Just not enough for the south. IMO it should be 100% rejection... Or they should maybe give you an option during the build process. Also, I think the new pano roof might be a little different. Folks have reported more of a bluish tint on the new pano roof. Those panos have the roof rack mounts in a different spot than the original ones. Also better quality rubber seals and gaskets

I don't think heat transfer through the pano roof can be completely eliminated. With a material, you can do various coatings, etc. that block IR transmission through it. Something that is solid to visible light is usually also solid to IR (though there are materials that looks solid to visible light, but will let IR through). This is what you get with the standard roof. It is opaque to IR, UV, and visible light, it's a property of aluminum and paint.

However, there is also a factor of IR absorption and that is largely a matter of color. Something that is silver or white will tend to reflect most energy at or around the visible spectrum. White objects are white because they reflect back the full spectrum of visible light. Light colored objects also tend to radiate heat back to the atmosphere at a lower rate than darker colors. If you're out at night when frost is just beginning to form on cars, you will see it on dark windshields and dark cars before the white ones begin frosting up on their painted surfaces. Plant leaves are green because green is the only shade of light the leaves don't use and reflect back.

The pano roof is black and it will absorb infrared when the sun shines on it. It may not transmit much through, but it will become like a glass cooktop radiating the heat it has absorbed. So I would expect a pano roof car will heat up more sitting in the sun than a solid roof car would because of IR absorption.

IR absorption is the reason I am thinking about a white Tesla, though the pano roof's extra couple of inches of headroom might be nice. I got to sit in a Tesla for the first time this afternoon and it had the pano roof. I could see where the standard roof might be a bit claustrophobic by comparison.

BTW, the people on this forum are awesome. I had some concerns about legroom (I have very long legs) and a forum member met me so I could adjust the seats and see if they worked (quite well!) and I got a chance to drive it a few blocks. We were talking about having to wait a year to save up enough money, but my SO is now talking about selling some vacant land she has to speed up the process. She's beginning to chomp at the bit (I'm wearing the bit out from chomping). She was going to sell it anyway, but it was on the back burner.