an interview with Keith Attard;
Managing Director of SolarTech
The Greeks called him Helios, the Romans Apollo. The god of the sun brings to earth many benefits, but may also require some control as too much of a good thing can be harmful.
SolarTech, a local company focused on the installation of solar films does just that: filtering out the bad effects so that we can solely enjoy the beneficial effects of the sun.
K eith Attard, Managing Director of the company behind the renowned brand SolarTech, said that professionals always make a difference.
Solar films need expertise to be applied, Mr Attard explained. When these films are not installed well, the finish will be blemished, and the end result will be poor. Describing the way in which solar films work, Mr Attard said that they permit light to go through but filter out the harmful rays. These rays are blocked using metals, chemicals and other elements which permit only the ‘good’ part of the sun to get through. Mr Attard specified that SolarTech are the exclusive purveyors of the world-famous Johnson Window Films. “The product is designed, produced and shipped from Carson, California,” said Mr Attard, adding that this former family concern had developed into a multinational. A serious product, these solar films will last for up to 20 years and carry a warranty of 10 years.
The benefits of solar film
Speaking of the benefits of solar films, Mr Attard said that, from an aesthetic perspective, these can enhance the existing appearance of a building if one chooses a product that complements the existing elements of the structure. For example, an architectural product can completely transform the look of the building into something it never was before.
People need to realise the harmful effects of unfiltered rays and that is where we come in
Solar film also helps in energy savings. Mr Attard said that there are many types of new windows that can be installed to achieve energy conservation. He added that window film can achieve the same results at a lower cost. Unlike most building retrofit projects, the installation of window film is a minor disruption. Personal safety is also another asset, observed Mr Attard. Glass itself is a dangerous product as most glass types are designed to shatter when they break.
Any window film installed on any glass type will help to keep the fragments intact, stopping the potential danger of flying glass fragments and large pieces. Certain products can be installed to reduce the ability to see inside a building, home, car or boat. This, said Mr Attard, is an added benefit against vandalism and possible theft. By reducing the view from outside, the potential intruder is not enticed to steal your belongings.
Fully certified to US standards
SolarTech, said Mr Attard, is fully stocked all year-round and focuses only on solar films so the specialisation is clear. Because of its close and well-established association with Johnson Window Films, the employees benefit from constant training abroad. SolarTech uses films which are certified by the American Society for Testing and Materials and the National Fenestration Rating Council of the United States. Johnson, said Mr Attard, has its own labs and works with Berkeley University Laboratories. Once an installation is executed, a warranty is issued and stamped by SolarTech; the client gets a guarantee of quality.
“People need to realise the harmful effects of unfiltered rays and that is where we come in. We are educating people on the need to filter out these rays through the installation of solar films” said Mr Attard. He proudly explained to us that he was informed in the most recent of his bi-annual meetings with Johnson Window Films, that Malta was the third largest market in Europe after France and Spain, and on the basis of this performance, “Johnson felt that it could afford to modify its products for Malta’s needs.” This, he mused, is a huge differentiating factor for SolarTech given how most other products have simply been designed for an international market.
Company slogan
The company slogan is “Cut the heat, not the view” and Mr Attard said that their solar film removes nothing of the panorama to be enjoyed by the client. “Installing the films will mean that the view will not be altered. What will change is the amount of light which will come into the room.”
Some models reduce the light drastically and some will just barely reduce the light. It also does not follow that the greater the heat reduction, the greater the loss of light. “We have a model which we are promoting this year, which reduces light by about 2% only, and heat by circa an astounding 90%,” said Mr Attard. There is, of course, a price tag to this. However, Mr Attard said that the market is slowly changing to view the cost not as a burden but as an investment since the film will last for about 20 years.
Solar films are not the only iron which Mr Attard has in the fire. He is also a shareholder in Med Alls Ltd, which has been in the business of making aluminium apertures for the past 38 years, and apertures and solar films are a match made in heaven. Indeed, SolarTech has been nurturing relations with Malta’s importers and manufacturers of apertures for several years. “When working with aluminium, pvc and wooden aperture manufacturers and installers, we ensure that the films are installed and checked before the apertures are delivered by our partners to their clients.” Some of SolarTech’s apertures clients also “bring the glass over to us. The film is then applied, and the aperture supplier would then embed the glass into the aperture frame.”
We have a model which we are promoting this year, which reduces light by about 2% only, and heat by circa an astounding 90%
That the film is installed onto, rather than embedded between the glass panels, means that should the client decide to, for example upgrade the film, this can be removed at any time and re-applied. And after some decades of use, even SolarTech’s high-quality range of products have a lifespan and an outside application facilitates changing, eliminating the need to throw apertures away.
That said, Mr Attard admitted, he has often observed that SolarTech’s work outlasts the aperture itself.
A growing company
SolarTech is a growing company and business is booming. Mr Attard said that from a single operator; himself, in 2013, SolarTech now employs six other persons, four of whom are installers. He said that he does not believe in outsourcing installations since that would potentially compromise quality control, adding that by hiring staff, he ensures that the ethos of the company is shared throughout all the team; with the emphasis being made on quality, perfection and customer care. He said that the constant training given to the installers ensures that each person is fully aware of the quality standards needed when installing the solar films. “We have the mentality that what is not good for my house is not good for my client,” said Mr Attard who smilingly described himself as a big pain in the neck where it comes to quality.
Aside from the removal of excessive heat from homes, the solar films have the added benefit of helping the environment. These films reduce the need for apartment climate control such as air conditioning systems and therefore reducing the carbon footprint. Mr Attard said that each dwelling these days has an energy performance certification and solar films will improve this certification. That would mean that prospective clients would get a bank loan at potentially a better rate. On the higher value properties, this energy rating also has a significant financial value particularly on energy costs and material deterioration due to sunburn. This latter is particularly relevant where commercial premises are concerned. “From a health and safety perspective then, these films help to reduce melanoma,” he said, noting that foreign tenants or buyers are particularly demanding in this regard.
Fond recollections
Design & Build asked Mr Attard if he had any notable recollections of major jobs. Without missing a beat, he identified the offices of the Malta Financial Services Authority.
what is not good for my house is not good for my client
He recalled that it was a ten-month job and that it had incurred the added difficulty of having to battle the elements. This modern building has roughly 60% of its façade in glass and Mr Attard said that the glass had to be treated on site, which translated into work conducted using cherry pickers in all sorts of weather conditions.
He observed that glass is being increasingly used by architects in projects and more and more care must hence be given to ensure the suitability of the design, the form, to the function of the building. He recalled a glass room in a large glass-encapsuled major project which SolarTech were tasked to improve. “The glass structure had to be coated in solar film as the equipment inside was seizing due to the heat incubated in the glass room. “That was a very complex job because of the design of the glass and access among other things, but a very successful job it was, too,” concluded Mr Attard adding that “the film melded nicely into the overall architecture of the site.”
Final Thoughts
With land available for development slowly but surely running out, any new buildings will have to go higher. This in turn, means that solar exposure will be greater. While air conditioning may now be more of a necessity than an option, solar window films have followed suit. Filtering out the harmful rays of the sun, cutting down on heat and saving on the carbon footprint produced by the AC units are but three of the positive effects of such films. Several other advantages too are gained such as heightened security, safety, and privacy.
the film melded nicely into the overall architecture of the site
An accountant by profession, Mr Attard was initially attracted to this technological breakthrough by the crystal-clear and quasi-immediate ROI reaped through a professionally executed installation of solar films. That these films are supplied by SolarTech; a veteran team of professional solar film installers, who represent none other than the ground-breaking Johnson Window Films brand, makes it very clear that this is an optimum means of leveraging technology in making our lives safer and more comfortable.
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