Siding ventilation: avoiding condensation

Condensation is the nemesis of the insulation industry. It shifts your home’s surface temperature and forces your HVAC system to work overtime to reduce humidity levels, so insulated siding is only as effective as its air flow.

Airtightness isn’t always a positive feature. A material that can’t breathe or drain cannot achieve its full insulating potential. Hansons’ vinyl siding solves the problem with a patented airflow system that keeps moisture at bay. We combine a hidden perforation system and slanted wall design to let air in and keep moisture out.

The Importance of Condensation Control

Water vapor is an intrinsic part of all of the air on the planet, particularly in humid climates. Once your siding reaches dew point, that vapor transforms into condensation, which leaks into your architecture.

Rust and decay aren’t the only consequences. Condensate also reduces the efficiency of your porous insulation, pipes, and HVAC system.

Even the thickest insulated siding can’t remove condensation’s effects entirely, so your air conditioner will have to work overtime to remove all of that additional moisture.

When condensate cools your duct surfaces to below-ambient temperatures, they, too, will have to consume extra electricity to achieve the same effects.

Moisture ingress raises your home’s thermal conductivity while eroding your insulation materials. Corrosion under insulation (CUI) follows swiftly, deteriorating the metal beneath your siding. Mold and rust always next in line.

Moisture and Water Vapor

Some insulation reduces moisture by decreasing water vapor permeability, but that’s an inadequate and expensive solution. Vapor retarder can certainly prevent moisture accumulation, but your insulation isn’t as impenetrable as you might like.

It will still absorb more than its fair share of moisture. That creates a thermal bridge that causes heat gain in sweltering weather. In winter, you can expect the opposite problem: icy pipes and leaking ductwork.

Over-insulation is another popular approach, but it can make your house stuffy and unpleasant. You don’t need to settle for a reduced R-value to fix the condensate problem, though. Hanson’s has used the finest engineering minds to come up with a better solution.

Continuous insulation and exterior cladding shouldn’t be used as watertight barriers. The entire wall assembly must work together to resist water while helping the architecture underneath to breathe.

Studies show that R-values are at their highest when water is reduced without blocking airflow, so cladding needs to allow both drainage and evaporation.

Vinyl siding achieves its impressive R-values by maximizing both of those natural processes, but 1-800-HANSONS has taken these results to new heights.

Moving Beyond Mechanical Insulation

Mother Nature has the perfect solution to condensate: by stimulating the water cycle through airflow, so we use exactly that approach. Our patented perforation system keeps your siding dry the natural way. We optimize that impact by guiding airflow throughout our siding systematically.

Our unique ventilation strategy will keep moisture away from your insulation while simultaneously removing condensate when vapor sneaks through. This keeps airflow optimal while our slanted wall design reduces exterior condensate from leaking in.

Our installation includes an additional layer of proprietary house wrap to keep your air dry and your climate, well-controlled. We’ve also minimized the seams and overlapped the ends to reduce the risk of leakage.

By approaching the moisture problem from two directions, we’ve created a product that’s unmatched in the industry.

Our vinyl siding is so sophisticated we’ve backed it with a lifetime guarantee. You’ll never need to install another siding product, and you won’t want to. Your U-values will shrink your utility bills and maximize your comfort.