If you are looking to build or buy a new home in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of California, the color of your roof may make a significant difference in your utility bill. As anyone who has worn black clothing during midday in the Phoenix sun knows… your black clothing is absorbing the heat, causing you to be much warmer than you would be if you were to wear light colored clothes. The same principle applies to the color of your roof.
Studies provided by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Florida Solar Energy Center have shown that by having a “cool roof” installed, will result in up to 40 percent energy savings—a savings of roughly $750 million each year, nationwide. A cool roof—light colored roof that aids in repelling sunlight—can reduce roof temperatures by about 50 – 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Even as much as 80 degrees, as shown in a BAS study where a black roof reached temperatures of 190 degrees and an identical white roof reached temperatures of only 110 degrees.
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The white shingle roof so prevalent in the South is often soiled by the algae growing on the roof or the dark streaks of staining. There’s an entire profession devoted to cleaning these light colored roofs… using bleach water. A better choice may be an insulated metal roof or aluminum roof.
Fireman Roofing´s last blog ..Old Wood Roof Shingles
Its a nice article. Very helpful for all those who searching for to build a greener home. Thanks.
I’ve also heard about that in some news, white colored roofs reflects sunlight back..resulting to a cooler home. I hope everyone would try to at least replace their dark colored roofs, we are all experiencing the effect of global climate change.
Rye@solar roof tiles´s last blog ..Solar Roof Shingles
A white roof will defintely lower your cooling costs. We live in Florida and just re-roofed our home using a special coating (expands & contracts) — it’s white. We slowly redid the roof on weekends — its original roof was tar and pebbles. As soon as we had 1/2 of the roof done, we noticed our air conditioning was not coming on as often.
Thanks for sharing. Most homeowners don’t really think about this when they choose a roof.