Insulated Siding

With the availability of multiple styles, colors, and Sales Design Consultant accessories, vinyl siding allows homeowners in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and throughout southeastern Wisconsin to create just about any architectural element they desire on their home’s exterior.

Vinyl siding is well known for its lasting beauty, beautiful colors, architectural styles, low maintenance, durability, and environmental performance.  Often, when looking at siding alternatives, one forgets to consider insulated vinyl siding.  The Vinyl Siding Institute (VSI) recently released a 49-page booklet titled Insulated Siding as Home Insulation: Guide for Users and Energy Raters.  Here is a brief summary of what is covered in the guide.

The Vinyl Siding Institute defines insulated siding as a vinyl cladding with manufacturer-installed rigid plastic foam insulation that is laminated or permanently attached to the cladding product.

Testing indicates expanded polystyrene insulation is most often used due the material reaching the highest levels of rigidity, dimensional stability, and thermal performance.

• Insulated siding can help achieve a homeowner’s energy savings targets.
• Insulated siding is recognized as a form of “continuous insulation” or insulation installed on the exterior of a home.
• Various national building energy performance programs clearly recognize insulated siding as an energy efficient cladding.

In order to qualify as home insulation, insulated siding must be installed over a water-resistant barrier* and existing sheathing.  In order to optimize the thermal performance, any existing siding that would provide gaps or voids behind the new insulated siding should be removed.  Combined with a water resistant barrier*, insulated siding does show an…

• improvement in reducing air infiltration.
• improvement in heating/energy savings.
• improvement in the home’s overall home energy rating system (HERS Index)**.
• contribution to achieving points in leading “Green Certification” programs.
• Besides, improving a structure’s ability to keep heat in, insulated siding does not inhibit efforts to keep moisture out.  With a properly installed water resistant barrier*, insulated siding minimizes moisture penetration from the exterior into the wall assembly and provides a way for moisture to properly drain and dry

Consider insulated vinyl siding on your siding/remodeling project! 

*Water resistant barrier – DuPont™ Tyvek® HouseWrap is an example of a water resistive barrier.

• Tyvek HouseWrap protects against damaging wind and rain that can penetrate through exterior cladding.  It blocks excess water from entering into walls.
• Tyvek HouseWrap stops air movement through walls to reduce heating and cooling costs
• Its breathable structure allows moisture vapor to pass through to help promote drying in wall systems which can aid in preventing growth of mold and mildew

**The HERS Index (Home Energy Rating System) serves as a metric for ranking and rating a home’s energy performance.