Do You Need A Meter Or A Heat Box?

If laying film keeps your lights on and your family fed, pay attention. Our industry runs on claims—total IR block, skin-cancer protection, ceramic this, nano that. Manufacturers post glossy charts, distributors parrot the numbers, and nobody polices a word. Specs get stretched like shrink wrap in July, leaving you guessing what truly goes on the glass.

The Problem: Marketing Over Truth

• No governing body checks film data.
• Spec sheets often cherry-pick numbers to look heroic.
• Customers rely on you to separate fact from fluff.

If you cannot prove performance in real time, you risk selling snake oil without even knowing it.

The Fix: Buy a Meter, Build a Heat Box

1. The Meter

A broad-spectrum beamsplitter meter (EDTM makes a solid one) shows what percentage of visible, infrared, and UV light passes through glass and film. Press a button, read raw numbers—no spin.

2. The Heat Box

A simple heat-lamp demo—bulb on one side, your hand on the other—proves how well a film slows heat. Specs cannot compete with the instant “whoa” your customer feels when the hot spot disappears.

Run the film through the meter for numbers, then into the box for the feel test. Numbers plus sensation equals trust.

“But a Meter Costs a Grand.”

Pay that thousand once or pay in lost sales forever. A meter delivers:

1. Proof for customers — trust climbs and close rate follows.
2. Protection for you — spot junk film before it hurts your reputation.
3. Pricing power — prove performance and skip the race to the bottom.

Add a forty-dollar heat box and you own the full demo.

How to Get Started

1. Order a beamsplitter meter from EDTM or your supplier of choice.
2. Build a wooden frame, mount a 250-watt IR bulb, and cut a sample slot.
3. Train your crew: “Meter first, heat box second, sell the feel.”
4. Re-test every roll that hits the bench so you know it performs.

Bottom Line

Blind faith in spec sheets costs money. Grab a meter, build a heat box, and pull guesswork out of every install. Customers get real performance, you earn higher tickets, and truth beats hype every time.