This cheap window replacement isn't just an inconvenience — it may be illegal.
A Redditor posted a photo of a new sliding door pane their homeowners association installed. The catch? It's single-pane, which saves the HOA money but is energy-inefficient and costly for the homeowner.
"HOA saves a couple hundred dollars," the original poster wrote. "And I pay many hundreds in A/C bills. This is a triple sliding door, facing east in Central FL. Who even buys single pane glass?"
The photo shows the pane's U-factor, which refers to how well the window insulates, and its solar heat gain coefficient, which indicates how much solar heat passes through the window.
To be considered energy efficient for Florida and similar climates, the window should "have a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.25 or lower and a U-Factor of 0.40 or less," per the University of Florida.
Both posted numbers are well beyond this range. For the homeowner, that means they'll spend more money on regulating their home's temperature. It's not just costly — under Florida Building Code, it's likely illegal.
According to a 2015 article from Daily Commercial: "Aluminum single-pane windows, which [are] under the updated Florida Building Code released in July, are not permissible in most cases in new construction and window replacement projects."
In other words, these single-pane windows appear to have been banned nearly 10 years ago, making this HOA's decision highly concerning. Not to mention weatherization features and passive design can significantly lower utility bills.
It's not the first time an HOA has created a headache for homeowners and tenants.
This homeowner had frequent power outages in their area and wanted advice on how to get through to their HOA to get approval to install solar panels. This HOA cut down a tree without permission.
However, if an HOA is giving you trouble, there are plenty of ways to start the conversation to get the changes you desire.
Commenters on the Reddit post were shocked by the HOA's infuriating shortcut.
"Look up the property and check that they pulled a permit," one commenter suggested. "Then call and report that they used single pane windows. Those are not allowed in Florida … Odds are they didn't pull a permit or a licensed contractor, have fun with this one."
"If you're in a hot climate this is absolute crap … Better glass is one of the best upgrades you can make to your home for energy efficiency … Our heat and AC usage were both cut in half from upgrading glass a few years ago," another user said.
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