Why Vinyl Siding is the Best Siding Option for Your Home and the Environment
Window of a private house on a background of beige siding.

Homeowners have become more conscious of the kind of materials they use to build more eco-friendly homes. This has made manufacturers try to come up with more sustainable materials for various construction needs. Materials ranging from roofing to flooring, there are several options available to help build homes that don’t threaten the environment.

Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) reports that vinyl siding showed a better Environmental Impact Score (EIS) than other siding options such as; fiber cement, cedar board, and brick and mortar – despite being dismissed as mere plastic.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the green benefits of Vinyl siding over the other siding options.

Vinyl Siding vs. Fiber Cement

Based on the BEES report (on eleven impact categories), it was reported that vinyl siding significantly lowers impact than fiber cement in every environmental impact category.

The most impressive being its non-carcinogenic impact. The average vinyl siding is only 19% of average fiber cement’s ozone depletion impact and only 21% of fiber cement’s global warming impact.

Vinyl Siding vs. Cedar Board

When also compared to cedar board, vinyl siding recorded a significantly lower impact in the smog, climate change, ozone depletion, acidification, and non-carcinogenic impact category. Its ozone depletion impact is more than double the impact of vinyl siding, and its smog impact is 42% higher than that of vinyl siding.

Insulated vinyl siding has lower impacts than cedar board in the ozone depletion, smog, and eutrophication categories, with eutrophication, again being the category with the best performance as impacts is only 14% of those for cedar board.

Vinyl Siding vs. Brick and Mortar

Vinyl siding proved to have a lower impact on almost all of the categories when compared to brick and mortar. Its smog impact is only 11% compared to that of brick and mortar siding at 15%.

The results of these individual product unit comparisons are quite significant in demonstrating vinyl siding’s greener advantages, especially in key categories that impact climate change.

Most roofing companies consider this a win for homeowners, the vinyl siding industry and the environment.