Skylight Melting Siding
The intense heat from the skylight nearly melted my smartphone taking this photo. I had to shoot the photo fast and move. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
Skylight Melting Siding Can and Does Happen
It's possible for a skylight melting siding story to be in your local paper or here online. I know it's possible because I've felt the searing heat on my own face from sunlight that's concentrated and reflected by the slightly concave glass on my own skylight. I was walking up to my mailbox and thought someone was aiming a blowtorch at my face.
Related Link
Actual Melted Vinyl Siding - Podcast 6
How Does a Skylight Melt Siding?
A skylight melts siding because the glass is not flat. Gravity tugs at the center of the glass making the center lower than the sides. This concave surface concentrates the rays of the sun much like a magnifying glass does when used to ignite a fire.
Do All Skylights Melt Siding?
No, many skylights aim the heat ray back up to the sky. It's important to realize that the sun moves during the day and through the seasons. The skylight may only aim intense heat rays at the siding or something else for a few days, or weeks, a year.
Here's a close-up shot of the melted and warped vinyl siding. This damage was caused by sunlight reflecting off a window, not a skylight. But a skylight can cause identical damage. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
How Hot are the Concentrated Rays of Sunlight?
I wasn't able to measure the temperature on my face as I walked up my driveway to go to the mailbox, but I can tell you it was as hot as the heat that comes out of an open oven when you take out a pizza. It was so hot that I felt if I didn't move, my face would start to blister in seconds.
This photo was taken just moving one foot farther up the driveway. The heat rays are extremely concentrated and I estimate where I was standing they were about 9 inches in diameter as I felt no heat on my neck. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
Can You Prevent Melting Damage?
You can put an insect screen over the skylight to break up the sun's rays and to scatter them when they try to concentrate. It may not completely solve the problem, but it will lessen it for sure.
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