I prefer my sunlight (like my cigarettes) unfiltered. The low-e windows do something to the light so I always regard it as either my eyesight is going, or I have sunglasses on indoors.
And I'm kidding about being a smoker, I am not and never have been.
Casey

Thanks, Casey. Good analogy - nicotine builds up on a surface as about the same color. I want to see the real colors through my window.

I have tinting on a quadruple sliding french door in our kitchen. I notice a very slight grey tint that I have gotten used to and does not bother me in the least. It cuts down the blinding sunshine since it is a southern orientation. I did not want to cover the glass with any window covering as I love the unobstructed view. The family room double window on the same wall does not have the tinting, yet the difference is only perceptible if someone would point it out.

Andee, thank you for posting this question as I'm also questioning what a window tint will do to the look of my interior décor. Here in Texas, code requires the E-366 tint, the darkest. Also, these windows look like "Coke bottle glass" on the exterior. Bumping up this thread hoping for additional feedback.

When my new windows were put in, I was shocked at how dark they looked from the outside. You virtually cannot see inside the house most of the time. From the inside, it's much less noticeable, but clearly, it's not a crystal clear view.

My contractors were shocked when I complained. They said everyone LOVED this about them - that I was the first to complain. I made some smart comment about their customers being drug dealers and the rich and famous.

I'm used to it now, and the energy efficiency was important to me, but it was an adjustment and I still prefer clear glass. But those old windows were awful, awful, awful and so needed to go.

When we replaced windows in our South Florida home I used tinted- noticeable from outdoors but less so from the inside. At first I noticed it but as time went on all I saw was that there was far less glare from the pool. Mine were mostly south and west facing, so cutting glare was a factor.

I would not do so in my more northern home as glare is far less a factor for far fewer months a year. In fact here tinted windows would make winter depressing IMO as sunny days are a real treat.

I have low-e windows and never noticed anything particularly dark or off about the view or the quality of the light coming through them. The degree of the tint must vary quite a bit among manufacturers.

In fact when I had to have the glass replaced on one unit, I was talking to the window guys and they asked what color my tint was. I said I had no idea. The guy who came to replace the windows had me examine my glass at an angle to see a slight tint (greenish I think).

Anyway I also have my car windows tinted at 40% with a slightly bronze-colored tint. Even with that more extreme tint I don't really notice the effect of the color unless I'm looking for it. It's just something you get used to and it disappears into the background.

Given other comments in thread it sounds like you need to closely examine the particular windows you're considering to see they'd bother you.

In doing my "due diligence" on the subject, I found that energy code requirements very much depend on region.

One of my considerations is that I'm replacing only some of the windows in the house. I had a couple of replacements in the kitchen in 2001 by Renewal by Andersen with "low E", but I can't see any difference from colorless. They now offer as standard a darker coating, but I can still get the lighter coating at no additional cost. I'm also looking at Marvin Infinity and their standard is like Andersens. But now I've been told that there is a lighter coating and they are FedExing me a sample this week (a slightly higher price, but not much). They didn't have the sample in the showroom which surprised me, given that surely some of us would prefer it (I'm in the Mid-Atlantic on a shady lot) - especially as I've now told Marvin that the darker glass is a deal-killer (DH does not want it), even though Andersen's cost will be 1/3 higher than Marvin for essentially the same product.

TexasGal, I've found out what the numbers mean. The first digit for you, "3" means three coatings, "2" is two and "1" is one coating, which is what I want. I've found a very good wonky website that you might like that supplements all the qualitative information you can find about these low E windows. You can input your region and get recommendations, and there are also fact sheets by state.

Here is a link that might be useful: Window Selection Tool

I am pretty sure I have low e windows in my house. I put them in a couple years ago - quite a bit of windows (one side of the house is almost all glass). I do not notice the tinting at all. I replaced single pane windows/sliders. Considering how much glass the house has and that I live in a very hot part of the country, I am happy with my electric bill in the summer. I attribute it to the windows.

Andee, thank you for the referral to the Window selection guide. However, Texas allows only one type of window coating for replacement windows so there is no selection in this state when it concerns tinting. By the way, the last two digits of the glazing number refer to visible light transmission (VLT). For example, with low E-366, 66% of the visible light is transmitted with this glazing.