The roofing of your home is an important element that is both protective and decorative. It can be impactful when it comes to cooling your home during the summer months. Most homeowners aim to spend less on energy during this time, while still being able to live in the comfort of a home that is cool and relaxing. You may not have given much thought to the relationship between your roof and the temperature of your home, but your roofing could help cool your home. Continue reading to learn more details regarding how this can be achieved.
Roof Color
Roof color is a factor when it comes to your home’s internal temperature. Heat absorption into your attic can be impacted by the color of your roof. According to the U.S. Department of energy, most dark roofs absorb 90% or more of the incoming solar energy, which can cause the roof to reach temperatures higher than 150°F (66ºC) when it’s warm and sunny. This results in an increase in the heat flow into the home that will put added stress on the air conditioning system causing the use of more energy. On the other hand, light-colored roofs absorb less than 50% of the solar energy, keeping the roof temperature and air conditioning energy use at a more desired. In essence, darker colored roofs absorb more heat, while lighter colored roofs are reflective, causing them to hold less heat than darker roofs.
Roof Material
The amount of heat that is absorbed into your home is impacted by the roofing material and how well it reflects sunlight. The kind of material covering your roof can either absorb or reflect heat. Take, for example, the reflectance of asphalt roofing when compared to metal roofing. Conventional white asphalt shingles generally reflect roughly 25% of sunlight because they are actually gray and feature a rough texture and a black substrate, while premium white asphalt shingles with whiter white granules, allowing greater reflectance of up to 35%. Many different metal roof systems provide significant solar reflectance that limits heat gain in your home. Metal roofing that’s painted and feature granular coating typically offers emissivity as high as 90%. When it comes to home coolness and energy efficiency in a home, roofing material plays a significant role in heat reflectance and absorption.
Roofing Technology
Roofing technology is a feature that generally enhances the capacity of a roofing system to increase energy efficiency by keeping the home’s temperature cool. Cool roofing technology, for example, according to Energy.gov, has high thermal emittance and increases solar reflectance by reducing solar heat gain and lowering roof temperature. With cool roofing technology, you can typically select the roofing color and material that you desire, with enhanced energy efficiency rating.
In choosing a roofing system for your home that can provide optimal cool temperatures, material, color and roofing technology are important factors. For a team of skilled professions, turn to Bay State Exteriors for all of your roofing needs. For a free quote & to get started today, you can contact us online directly on our website or call us at 857-389-5284.