Will it ever be against the law to install a window that reflects sunlight?

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Permalink Reply by Sean Lintow Sr on January 26, 2012 at 7:18pm

The problem is not per se the reflective or low-e coating but a combination of cheap thin glass coupled with the location. Thicker glass will help prevent the glass from becoming concave and acting as a magnifying glass. This issue can also be exacerbated by the location but with the thicker glass that generally mitigates it unless you want to talk about the Las Vegas death ray.

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Permalink Reply by Bud Poll on January 27, 2012 at 6:04am

LOL, that's funny,  I guess that would make covering my house with a radiant barrier a bad decision.  Actually, her solution might be something similar as I often see cars covered to reduce the dirt accumulation (I assume), so simply make that cover a bit reflective and someone else gets the sun.

As for 120°, that's not hot.  I've played with the old adage, "you can cook an egg on a hot rock" and you can.  Back in the old days when one could actually sit on the hood of a car, you would never try on a blazing hot day.  As for the plastic melting, I would think the mfg would have taken that into account.  My kids toys never melted so maybe there is a message there.

Bud

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Permalink Reply by David Meiland on January 27, 2012 at 6:50am

There are many cases of low-e windows apparently melting vinyl siding on neighboring houses. As Sean says, part of the issue seems to be glass thickness and lites that are concave. http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/window-refle...

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