Low E Reflective Vinyl Siding

While sunlight reflections melting vinyl siding might be the most prominent issue these low e windows create they are hardly the only issue.

Low e reflective vinyl siding.

It takes essentially a perfect storm situation to create the conditions that allow vinyl siding to melt. Still with trends among homeowners favoring both high efficiency windows and vinyl cladding and many building codes now requiring low e windows on new homes it s most likely a problem we ll see more and more. The important takeaway here is that this phenomenon is not caused in any way by vinyl siding. Combine low e glass facing south or southwest homes that are close together with vinyl siding and the sun and you get a recipe for melting siding.

Low e windows are designed to reflect more heat away from the glass by design. Low e reflective insulation featured on the american architectural review. Artificial turf grass also has a low melting point and it can be easily ruined if the concentrated light reflections bouncing off a window create hotspots on the ground. Class a white boasts a flame rating of 10 and smoke rating of 15.

I had an engineer do a study on my home and the results were that the windows become concave under certain conditions and send a focused beam of heat onto my property. It is often less expensive than alternative siding options can be virtually maintenance free and is much more energy efficient compared to the old wood and aluminum siding choices. Thank you for your question. Is melted vinyl siding a new problem.

Low e windows can have an effect similar to a magnifying glass where it focuses the sun s rays like a laser beam onto any surface. Yes we have encountered this situation from time to time. My siding was just fine for 13 years until my neighbors installed new low e windows. Low e class a white class a white insulation is designed to meet the needs of customers demanding extremely low flame and smoke characteristics.

Unfortunately this is what happens when low e windows reflect light onto your home s siding. Low emittance windows have a coating on them that suppresses radiative heat flow. It s caused by newer low e windows that are installed on nearby structures where the light happens to reflect in a particular way according to vinyl verified. In case you aren t familiar with them low e a k a.

Vinyl siding is affordable low maintenance beautiful and durable that is unless it s subjected to extreme heat. Melted siding from window reflection is a problem that has become more common in recent years.