It wasn’t mentioned, so I’m wondering, wouldn’t the responsibility for the cost of repairs be on whoever who owns the house that has the windows causing the damage?
Sounds like the screen solution is the best fix. If it was me, I’d offer to pay for the offending window screen on the neighbor’s house. Probably be less than a couple hundred dollars.
The window is not melting the plastic siding, heat radiated by the sun is melting the siding. The window is simply changing the direction the radiated heat.
Extreme cold temperatures make vinyl siding more brittle and easily damaged by high winds and objects impacting it.
I think I remember a suit many years ago where a high rise building had windows which reflected sunlight down and caused damage. The architect was cited in the suit.
Vinyl siding, windows, anything does not do well in Arizona sun and heat.
Vinyl siding doesn’t do well in Alaska either. It’s not uncommon to have below-zero temps and 70+ mph winds at the same time. The stuff gets brittle, distorts, the wind gets under it and pieces sail off downwind.
Back in the late 60’s we built many houses in a development we managed. Most of the houses were for retirees and were low maintenance. They featured all-electric because we had a nearby nucleur power plant and had very low rates. Single story on a slab with electric baseboard heat and aluminum siding.
Our house was meant to be an upscale model and was 2 story. We used radiant ceiling heat (electric wire embedded in the plaster). The bathrooms had tile floors and radiant heat underneath. I have seen on ‘This Old House’ where they would use tubes with heated water, but ours was electric wire. I did a lot of the wiring in the house myself, just not the radiant wires.
Outside we used what I remember was Rubberoid siding. It was a rubber-based product with color throughout. There may have been asbestos embedded but am not sure. Certainly asbestos was common in roofing at the time.
I had an opportunity to visit that house some 30 years later and the sideing loooked new. It still appears great now 50 years later based upon Google Earth street view.