HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1965-07-22, Page 16Congratulations to . . .
on the completion of their
CENTRALIA PLANT
JOHN R. McCONKEY
General Insurance
360 Queens Avenue
London, Ontario
Our Congratulations
to DASH WOOD
PLANING MILLS
THIS POPULAR BOW WINDOW IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY DASHWOOD STYLES
Old fight—same decision
Wood easily whips aluminum
There have been so many
general statements made on
the subject of wood vs alu-
minum that maybe, as one
great man once said, we
should look at the record.
This article will deal with
the subject as it relates to
the heating of surfaces such
as house siding, windows,
storm sash, screens and
ventilated awnings when ex-
posed to the sun and the
effect therefrom on the tem-
perature inside the building.
Most of the data used are
contained in Building Mater-
ials and Structures Report
(HMS) entitled "Solar Heat-
ing of Various Surfaces"
which is a publication of the
National Bureau of Standards
—sort of a bible on the sub-
ject.
All authorities agree that
a dark surface absorbs heat
and becomes warm when ex-
posed to the sun, so we will
dismiss dark surfaces with-
out further discussion.
Various kinds of surfaces
were exposed to the sun by
the Department of Standards
and their temperatures de-
termined.
A surface covered with
glossy white paint was cooler
than any other tried and that
one covered with flat white
was nearly as cool.
It is reasonable to believe
that the tendency of an ex-
terior covering to impart
heat to a house is increased
as its temperature in-
creases.
Most aluminum siding is
pre-coated or painted on the
outside surface. This im-
mediately changes the re-
flective property of the sid-
ing from the value of alumi-
num to that of whatever color
is used, and seldom is that
color white—that best of all
reflectors.
When it comes to heat
conduction, woo d—painted
or unpainted—is so far su-
perior to aluminum as an
insulator that it is positively
amazing.
Engineering figures show
that, in a given length of
time, aluminum of a given
thickness and area will
transmit almost 2,000 times
as much heat as will a piece
of wood of the same dimen-
sion; and this means hot sun
heat into the house or other
building in the summer and
expensive furnace heat out of
the house in the winter.
Is it any wonder that those
with windows of aluminum
(or, for that matter, any
metal) cannot sit within sev-
eral feet of them on a cold
winter day without feeling the
Rill force of Jack Frost's
attack.
Just touch the different
materials with your fingers
and you will understand why
the area around the alumi-
num window is so uncomfor-
tably cold in the winter.
These cold surfaces cre-
ate drafts and also we lose at
least a small amount of our
body heat to them by radia-
tion, thus adding to our dis-
comfort. This is even notice-
able when sitting near the
best of all metal windows—
those in railroad diners and
Pullman cars, which are
built of metal because of
structural reasons.
Unfortunately, this condi-
tion is made worse by infil-
tration around the edges of
metal windows and storm
sash due to the contraction
of the metal because of low
temperature.
Aluminum is worse than
steel in this respect as it
shrinks twice as much as
steel. And to aggrevate the
condition still more, the alu-
minum and steel shrink in
the winter—when we would
like them to swell to make
a tight joint—and then ex-
pand in summer, causing
sticking—when we would
prefer a little looseness.
Investigation by the Pitts .
burg Testing Laboratory
disclosed that, when placed
over the same window, a
make of wood storm sash
marketed in large quantities
throughout the nation was
five times as effective in
preventing cold air infiltra-
tion as the best of the alumi-
num storm sash and those
of other metals.
When it comes to keeping
heat from the sun out in the
summer and heat from the
furnace in during cold
months, the above data
merely confirms actual ex-
perience that wood is by far
the best answer—and it looks
better, too.
As for the expense of
painting windows—well, we
paint wood only because we
believe it gives wood a nicer
appearance. Not many people
will say that unpainted alu-
minum looks very nice sev-
eral years after installation;
and few people enjoy the
condensation which is fre-
quently experienced during
the winter months on the
interiors of metal windows.
Know le s
Li thog raphing Co
CREATIVE PRINTING
INSIDE EFFECT ATTAINED FROM THE BOW WINDOW
OPM 4 Exeter Times-Advocate