Black Windows

Vinyl windows can be made black in one of two ways. Some white vinyl windows can be capped with a black acrylic material. This makes it possible for the window to be black on both the inside and the outside. Other vinyl windows are available with a unique solar reflective black paint on the exterior only. Both types of black vinyl windows can exceed modern energy star 7.0 requirements.

Vinyl windows come natively in white, tan, and beige. Those colors run all the way through the frame material, so if you scratch a white window, it is still white. This makes them more durable than a window with an applied finish, no matter how durable the finish is.

Painting a vinyl window is a different process than painting other frame materials. The frame has to be scuffed and then a very specialized primer applied to allow the paint to adhere. The final paint applied over the primer is not a normal latex paint purchased at a local store. Latex acrylic paint for homes will cause the vinyl window to warp and the paint will peel off. The paint is a very expensive highly specialized solar reflective paint that keeps the surface of the black painted vinyl from heating above 155 degrees. Regular paint will not do that. The 155 degree temperature limit only applies to vinyl windows. The exterior surface temperature is irrelevant for fiberglass, clad wood, or aluminum windows.

With regard to installation, these windows can come with a stucco flange so they can be installed inside the old aluminum frame. This does reduce the need for costly stucco patch on the outside of the home, which can make this a very attractive option for some people.

Black Aluminum windows:
Basic non-thermally broken aluminum windows do come in black and they are the least expensive window you can use. They are equivalent in energy efficiency to the same windows that were installed in homes 40-50 years ago. They do not meet energy star requirements.

These windows should be installed with a nail fin, as a stucco flange in aluminum would ripple across the stucco and be very unsightly. Installing with a nail fin means a new home construction method. This requires cutting back the stucco several inches all the way around the existing windows. All the windows would have to be stucco patched and re-painted. This does increase the cost of window replacement considerably.

If supplied with the proper glass and glass spacer, thermally broken aluminum windows can meet modern energy star 7.0 requirements. They are considerably more costly than a regular base aluminum window. The black color is usually referred to as anodized bronze. The anodized finish is extremely durable and the aluminum frame has a very low expansion and contraction rate which makes them very stable. The temperature outside has to effect on the aluminum, even in black.

These windows should be installed with a nail fin, as a stucco flange in aluminum would ripple across the stucco and be very unsightly. Installing with a nail fin means a new home construction method. This requires cutting back the stucco several inches all the way around the existing windows. All the windows would have to be stucco patched and re-painted. This does increase the cost of window replacement considerably.

The aluminum skin on the outside can be finished in black or anodized bronze because it is aluminum. The exterior is extremely durable and unaffected by the temperature outside. The inside is wood and does not conduct heat or cold, which makes these windows naturally extremely energy efficient.
The only downside to clad wood windows is the overall thickness of the frame itself from the inside to the outside. They are usually over 5’’ deep which can restrict certain types of window treatments on the inside. In addition, the interior finish is wood and must be painted or stained.

These windows should be installed with a nail fin, as a stucco flange in clad wood would ripple across the stucco and be very unsightly. Installing with a nail fin means a new home construction method. This requires cutting back the stucco several inches all the way around the existing windows. All the windows would have to be stucco patched and re-painted. This does increase the cost of window replacement considerably.

Fiberglass is extremely energy efficient and the finish is usually a powder coat. The exterior temperature has very little effect on fiberglass even when it is finished in black.

These windows have to be installed with a nail fin. Installing with a nail fin means a new home construction method. This requires cutting back the stucco several inches all the way around the existing windows. All the windows would have to be stucco patched and re-painted. This does increase the cost of window replacement considerably.

Fibrex® is extremely energy efficient and it can be finished in black.

These windows must be installed with a nail fin. Installing with a nail fin means a new home construction method. This requires cutting back the stucco several inches all the way around the existing windows. All the windows would have to be stucco patched and re-painted. This does increase the cost of window replacement considerably.