Comment Re:The majority of new water mains are always plas (Score 5, Informative) 72
You are correct that PVC and CPVC degrade under sunlight (due to UV). However, the penetration of UV is very shallow. I doubt it compares to the chemical changes caused by heat that affects the entire pipe, but I can't really answer that question for certain.
https://www.usplastic.com/know...
Other pipes used include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polybutylene (PB), high-density polyethylene (PE), and cross-linked polyethylene (PEX). There are probably others. Each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
How all of these plastics behave when exposed to UV or heat is an interesting question that may not have an answer available. Given the discovery of chemical leaching after wildfires in California, I expect how heat affects these pipes will see more investigation soon.