Tints: IRR vs TSER

[polemicducky]

I read elsewhere that TSER is the true value for measuring heat rejection and not the IRR.
I'm just curious how it applies to analysis of existing tints.

Using Sunbloc as example:
Carbon (low-tier) VLT36 has IRR 65.0 and TSER 54.0, while the Ultimate Ceramic (mid-tier) VLT37 has IRR 79.0 and TSER 53.0.

If we base our judgment on TSER, then it would seem as if the Carbon film is actually better than the Ultimate Ceramic? At least, for heat rejection, which is what most people are usually after. Why then go for the more expensive ultimate ceramic? Should the IRR still be a factor here?

[StockEngine]

53 vs 54? that's negligible you'll feel less heat with the 79IRR and darker shade....

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[liteblue]

Ceramic is supposed to be better of the two. You can feel the heat rejection is better with the ceramic. But it all falls into your budget. Having a carbon film is still better than no tint at all. Having said that ceramic film is to have better performance, last longer and obviously cost more. So it all falls into how much you are willing to spend and can afford. I have a ceramic tint applied to our prius, Vkool applied to our honda odyssey and standard llumar tint applied over our honda jazz. Just based on my experience

[polemicducky]

53 vs 54? that's negligible you'll feel less heat with the 79IRR and darker shade....

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Yes, IRR is higher but this brings us back to the primary question - how much should IRR play in our decision making?

Some quotes below:

Difference between IR Rejection and TSER | Window Tinting | Window Film Singapore | Pacco Chemical

Infrared rays make up about 53% of the solar energy. Visible light makes up about 44% and lastly ultraviolet (UV) light about 3%. All of these 3 energy make up the solar spectrum and their combined energy is what we refer to when we use the term total solar energy.

Therefore, when comparing how much heat it can reject, we should be comparing Total Solar Energy Rejected (UV + visible + IR).

Science of window films (tints): Choosing the right window film for our cars in Malaysia - Christopher Teh

Obviously then, we want a window film with a high TSER (or low SHGC) value for high heat rejection levels. Unfortunately, confusions persist among many consumers who are still guided to select window films based on IRR values. Moreover, many car-tinting shops only report IRR values but not the more valuable TSER values for their window films. In the website of one well-known window film company, for instance, even erroneously advocated the use of IRR values as the guide to choose between window films.

This situation is compounded when even the reported IRR values are inaccurate because the heat rejection measurements were only done on one narrow part rather than the whole IR spectrum range. The reported IRR values are thus overestimated because other parts of the IR spectrum are not accounted for in the heat rejection evaluations.

The mentioned Sunbloc examples above have pretty much equivalent VLT and UV ratings, so I don't even understand why they still have similar TSER ratings.

UV (same) + visible (same) + IR (different) = TSER (same??)

Is this a case of inaccurate IRR reporting, as described in the second quote?

In any case, the consensus seems to be that TSER is what we should actually be looking at. Given this info, why prefer the more expensive Ceramic film over the Carbon one?