In today’s world more and more homeowners are focused on energy efficient aspects of their home. Your roof is no exception to this.
According to the Department of Energy, an energy efficient roof or “cool” roof is one that has been designed to reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat than a standard roof. Consider it similar to the same concept as wearing a dark colored shirt versus a white colored shirt on a hot summer day. A roof can be considered energy efficient if it’s materials include highly reflective paint, a sheet covering, or reflective tiles or shingles.
Energy Efficient Roofing Benefits
The most obvious benefit to having a cool roof is the energy saving costs. Using energy efficient roofing materials can make your roof nearly fifty degrees cooler than a roof with regular roofing materials. This allows homeowners to save energy by saving costs on air conditioning. With a normal roof, your air conditioner has to work much harder because higher temperatures from your roof are conducted down toward your home making rooms hotter. A cool roof can also help make outdoor spaces without air conditioning like garages and patios cooler and more comfortable.
The other most obvious benefit of energy efficient roofs are their effect on the environment especially in urban areas. By decreasing the amount of energy your home consumes, it helps to decrease environmental factors like urban heat islands or local air temperatures. An urban heat island is where an urban area is warmer than the surrounding rural areas due to the amount of people living there and their daily activities. Energy efficient roofs can result in better air quality and fewer greenhouse gases emitted in your community’s air. Buildings that are built with energy efficient roofing materials can also benefit from lower cooling costs and reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous dioxides, and mercury.
Since energy efficient roofing materials can decrease the temperature of your home’s roof it can also mean a longer life expectancy of your roof. Home owners should weigh in this factor when considering to build or make a current roof energy efficient. It may cost more up front but save you in the money in the long run with a longer lasting roof that does not have issues.
Types of Energy Efficient Roofs
Any pre-existing roof can be made cool simply by altering it’s roofing materials. Applying a cool roof coating, a thick white or reflective pigment paint that protects a roof’s surface from ultra-violet (UV) light, or replacing shingles or asphalt with lighter colored versions can instantly transform a normal roof into an energy efficient roof. There are other energy efficient roofing materials that can be used to transform low or steep sloped roofs into cool roofs. To view more details on these options review the Department of Energy’s synopsis here.
If you are in a new build process and considering an energy efficient roof, there are a number of products available to you. Roofing products are rated based on their reflectiveness. The higher the number the product is given, the more reflective a product is and the cooler your new roof will be.
Cost of an Energy Efficient Roof
Most homeowners are going to base their decision on having an energy efficient roof or not based on its cost. When deciding on whether or not to make your roof cool evaluate how much energy you will be saving. This is easier to determine with a new build home, but both scenarios should consider the climate and environment the home is located in, the home’s cooling and heating system, the home’s insulation, and type of roof being used.
Energy efficient roofing costs include installation, including materials and labor, and maintenance which may include repair, coating and cleaning. Additional costs can include specialized materials and labors if you are doing anything outside of the norm. In general, converting a current roof in fairly good condition to a cool roof will be more expensive than building a new cool roof. For a more detailed account of costs, be sure to consult an experienced roofing contractor like EMA Construction. Our qualified roofers will walk you through the process and timeline involved for your specific roofing needs, contact us today.
As you can see energy efficient roofing is becoming more and more popular with homeowners, especially those with new builds, due to the energy saving benefits and environmental positives.