Low-e Windows Are Burning Grass and Melting Siding
Is your grass suddenly having a weird burned look to it? Or is your vinyl siding melting for no good reason? The culprit is potentially a low-e glass window or another similar type of double-paned window.
Low-e windows, when lined up just right with the sun, cause some serious damage. Like a kid with a magnifying glass, these windows focus the sun’s light melting vinyl siding and scorching grass.
What Causes Scorched Grass and Melted Siding?
Low-e windows are known for their energy efficiency. One little unknown, or at least commonly unmentioned side-effect, is these windows magnify the sunlight. Low-e windows have a coating which reflects infrared radiation away from your home, and those rays must go somewhere.
Low-e windows are theoretically designed to reflect the sun’s rays away from your home in an even pattern. This doesn’t happen if the pressure on the inside of your window is different than the pressure on the outside. This change in pressure causes the window to bulge or flex just slightly.
It is this slight bend which causes the window to focus the sun’s beam to a point acting like a heat ray. A heat ray of sunlight which can reach temperatures of up to 200°F! For reference, vinyl starts to warp at 165°F.
The Effect Can Get Worse in the Late Fall and Early Spring
Typically, when you think heat you think summer. In fact, most calls we get about this phenomenon are in the spring and fall. This is because of a lower angle of sunlight which is more likely to produce this effect. Still, we get calls year-round asking for solutions to the problem.
The Solution to Low-e Windows Burning Grass and Melting Siding
While there are a few good solutions to Low-e windows burning your grass, most of them are quite expensive. You could replace your windows (or your neighbor’s), but that won’t be cheap. You could plant some trees or install some screens or awnings, but that messes up the view. You could replace your siding with a more heat-resistant siding, but that will run you upwards of $10,000.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say most of us don’t have that kind of money lying around. And even if we did, why spend it when there’s a more cost-effective solution?
Glare Control Window Film Saves the Day!
The ideal solution in nearly every house we’ve visited is a new type of glare reduction window film. This film reduces the amount of sunlight which reflects off your home, ultimately solving the problem. At the same time, this film helps your home achieve the same amount of sun control indoors.
For more information on glare control window film, get in touch with AP Corp today! AP Corp is the leading home window tinting company in Maryland servicing the greater Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia area with certified and trained home window tint installations.