I don't find that the low e coating makes a big difference. on older windows you could tell easily but on newer ones the low e is a light blue or greenish tint. low e is a good savings as it keeps heat out in hot climates and keeps heat in in cold climates. the location of the low e coating determines which window is for which climate. here is a link that shows the nfrc sticker. lots of good info on this little tag. http://www.nfrc.org/label.aspx this org rates most all windows, if you are looking at windows that are not independently rated..shop a little more and get nfrc certified. if the windows have full screens you could do solar screens but these are always dark. solar screens can be 70% or 90% depending on what amount of light you want to block. maybe lower %..these are just common to my area. look for the nfrc sticker on windows. this shows the location for the window (see above) and the visible light that comes thru the window. as a retrofit...I'd look at both low e windows to determine if the slight tint is ok and solar screens. sometimes it is difficult to properly flash replacement windows. best of luck.

My husband and I are very much "do-it-yourselfers" but when we had our 4 large floor to ceiling windows and sliding door tinted we elected to have a pro do them. In order to get a smooth finish, that lined up correctly with the glass without bubbles or wrinkles it was worth having someone install the film. I think it cost around 300$ (maybe less) for someone to install it. We used a three M product, and it has cut down the heat into the room considerably. We used a medium tint and yes the room became somewhat less bright but not at all dark. It has been a year and our eyes have adjusted to it and we think it was to blindingly bright before the window tinting. I would imagine the tinting will last a good long time unless my cat severely scratches it (in fact, the film was placed and integrated on the window so well that I can not see an area that I could even begin to remove it off the window).

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Hi, nilofera, I wish I could help you out more with advice on Kolbe and Marvin but our company doesn't work with Kolbe products and we don't often use Marvin except for some specialty window styles. We are a big fan of Andersen though. We highly recommend them because of the quality of the product and service. Here are a couple of houses we did this year with Black Andersen E-Series windows. They're both more traditional in style and they have Low-E 366 glass. The first one has grids and the second does not have grids. The second also has views from the interior of the house so you can see what it's like to look through the glass, sometimes the darker exterior makes people hesitant but it's hardly noticeable from the interior. We recommend Low-E 366 for our clients because it has a lower solar heat gain coefficient which benefits our Texas homeowners. A lower SHGC rating means the window glass does a better job of shading and preventing heat gain from the sun which is especially important for us in the summer months. I would recommend choosing the glass that's going to offer the best energy ratings. Compare the NFRC ratings of your windows and if the difference isn't significant then I'd go with the more affordable option as long as it meets energy requirements. What is your contractor recommending? - Ariana