Do you have double-pane windows in your home? Maybe you don’t but one or more of your neighbors do? Regulations in many states require the construction of a new home to include double-pane windows. They help to reduce energy costs but, only recently, it’s been discovered that those double-pane windows can be damaging your own home, your own car, or the home or car of a neighbor. Depending on how the sun hits your double-pane windows – or those of your neighbors – they can reflect a beam of sunlight so intense as to melt siding, car mirrors, and more.
Everyone knows that it’s possible to start a fire with a magnifying glass. You just position the magnifier between the sun and the object you want to ignite. The glass causes a normal temperature of sunlight to increase considerably – enough to start a fire. The same is happening with double-pane windows. The sun bounces off of one, then reflects in another direction, and acts as a high temperature torch. It’s been known to melt vinyl siding, ruin paint on vehicles, discolor paint on homes, and even melt the side mirror holders of cars.
You can do a little examining to find out if you can prevent your windows from attacking others, or to protect your home against a sun attack from a neighbor. Go outside to see how the sun is bouncing off of your own windows and follow the stream of light to see where it is landing. Or, look at your own house or car to see if a sunbeam from a neighbor’s windows is hitting it.
There are a few things you can do to protect yourself or to prevent your windows from damaging the property of others. One thing is to plant a tree somewhere between the offending window and the destination of the bouncing sunbeam. Another is to hang plant baskets in front of certain windows. You can also purchase car window tinting and apply it to the outside of your windows. If the sun is damaging your vehicle consider moving it or parking it in another area. If that isn’t possible you can also cover it with a tarp when it’s parked.
Double-paned windows are a must for cutting down on energy costs but who knew they were doing so much damage? It’s time to do something about that and, at least, you do have a few options.