Will A Black Roof Make Your Home Hotter Will A Darker Roof
A black or dark-colored roof will make your home hotter, but Southern New Jersey doesnt get enough full days of sun to overheat your home or even make a noteworthy difference. So, darker colors are not something to worry about. A well maintained and well-installed roof, HVAC, and properly insulated home and attic will play a much bigger role in how energy-efficient and comfortable your home is.
Is Metal Roofing Energy
Is metal roofing energy-efficient? is one of the most frequently asked questions we receive at Great Northern Metal Co, and its a question we can answer easily: yes! People increasingly recognize metal roofing as one of the most energy-efficient roofing methods, and the data backs it up. In fact, the Metal Roofing Alliance found metal roofing can save your home 40% in energy costs alone. Its one thing to simply say that metal roofing is energy-efficient, but how do metal roofs save energy? Below, we explain what factors contribute to metal roofing energy efficiency so you can feel confident in your decision to choose metal roofing for your next project.
What Is The Most Energy Efficient Roof Color
Details matter, even if theyre small and seemingly superficial. When it comes to choosing a roof color, the decision has more weight than you think, and it certainly goes beyond looks or curb appeal. The color of your roof translates to how it will perform in the realm of energy efficiency. After all, the roof is responsible for reflecting the UV radiation and keeping your homes temperature regulatedcool in the summer and warm in the winter. Ruminating on your roof color isnt a trivial decision, its a scientific one.
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Consider Proper Ventilation And Insulation
Ventilation is a critical part of maintaining the energy efficiency of your roof. A roof that has proper ventilation allows air to circulate through the attic space. There should be vents to let air come into the attic, as well as vents to allow it to exit. Some may think it is strange to insulate an attic to keep it warm and to enable cold air to flow in however, this combination is what makes your home energy efficient. In the colder winter months, allowing the cooler air to flow naturally into the attic space keeps the attic temperature cooler to reduce the potential for ice damming which is a major cause of roof leaks. The insulation in the attic is meant to keep heat in your home, instead of rising up into the attic. In the warmer summer months, the same natural airflow does the exact opposite it moves heated air out of the attic to help protect the roof and removes moisture, while the insulation helps to keep the heat from the attic out of your home.
Blocking the airflow at the eaves is one of the most common mistakes made by homeowners. To allow for proper ventilation and natural airflow, be sure never to cover the soffit vents with insulation in your home.
What Is The Most Popular Roof Color
The most popular colors of roof shingles are shades of black, brown, gray, and red.
These popular shingle colors stem from the materials that builders have been using for centuries: slate, wood, metal, and clay. Today, variations of black, brown, gray, and red roof colors are available in a variety of different roofing materials.
For metal roofing, the most popular metal roof colors are shades of green or grey.
However, when it comes to metal roof shingles, or stone-coated steel roof shingles, such as , you have a much larger color pallet that is actually very similar to the colors you would find in traditional asphalt shingles.
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The Ultimate 2020 Guide To Energy Efficient Roofs
In the roofing industry, the hottest topic is energy efficient roofs. Roofing of old was meant to keep the elements off of your head and anything after that was simply a bonus, not something to be expected.
But with the implementation of these energy efficient roofs and materials, there is an aim at making buildings more efficient, using less energy and lowering those energy costs by making it easier than ever to heat and cool a building.
And the place to start is with the roof. With the right materials in place, our building can become a model of efficiency, allowing you to keep your facility at the perfect temperature with far less effort out of your expensive HVAC system.
During the summer, in particular, a non-reflective rooftop can be one of the hottest places around and often gets hotter than the surrounding air. Even with very good insulation, it is inevitable that heat will penetrate roofs and begin to warm up attics and top floors alike. This forces air conditioners to work overtime to keep up with rising temperatures, sending your HVAC costs through the roof.
This guide will teach you everything that you need to know about energy efficient roofs and how they can help but you and your property in the long run.
Shingle Color And Temperature
In general, dark colors absorb heat, while white and lighter colors reflect heat. When it comes to which roof color is most energy efficient, the same principle applies to homes as to cars. Darker shingles cause the temperature of the roof to heat up, subsequently causing the air inside the home to get hotter. Meanwhile, white shingles reflect the sun energy, allowing them to stay cooler. A white roof is the most energy efficient.
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What Color Roof Is Considered Good Luck
If youre into Feng Shui, the Chinese philosophy of arranging your home harmoniously with nature, then a green roof is what you want. Feng Shui practitioners believe a green roof brings you luck and wisdom when life gets challenging. Wood in the front porch, facade, or roof attracts vitality and comfort, making some sort of wood accent a good pairing for a green roof.
If you dont practice Feng Shui but still want your roof to bring you luck, just take proper care of it, keep an eye on your HVAC, and make sure your home is well ventilated and insulated! You also dont need luck to pay for a new roof. In fact, you canpay for a new roof with no money at all!
What Are Some Signs Its Time To Replace My Hvac
- It runs a lot
- Its loud:
- The blower makes loud hums.
- The outdoor unit has gotten noisier.
- The furnace makes groaning and banging sounds.
- Before it starts, the AC makes noises.
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Other Factors Impacting The Energy
As many as 90% of roofs in the US are poorly designed and built with dark, heat-absorbing, non-reflective materials.
While the color of your roof plays a role in your homes overall efficiency, it shouldnt be the only thing you pay attention to when buying roofing material. Here are some other factors that can impact your roofs energy efficiency:
Best Roof And Siding Color Combinations
To eliminate a lot of the guesswork involved in picking just the right siding and roofing colors, here is a chart that represents some of the most popular and best looking roof and siding combinations.
| HOUSE SIDING COLOR | |
|---|---|
| Shades of dark grey and black | |
| Stucco | Dark and medium shades of grey, shades of brown, as well as the colors of clay tile |
| Weathered Wood or Log Houses | Brown, Green, Black, Grey |
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White Shingles Save Energy
In fact, white roofing saves so much energy that some cities around the world, including New York City, are painting rooftops white. Some studies show that roofs painted with reflective white paint can cause the temperature inside a building to drop by up to 40%, greatly reducing the strain on ones energy bill.
Heres an image of Queens, New York, where most of the rooftops have been painted white.
What Is The Best Color For Your Roof
Color plays an important role in the roofing. What is the best color to reflect heat away from the roof? You may have bought the most energy efficient roof material, but it will not be as effective if you paint the roof with the wrong color.
Typically, lighter colors reflect sunlight much better, rather than darker colors, which absorb sunlight and the heat seeps inside the house and makes the house warmer. Choosing the color depends on the climate you live in. If you live in a climate which is warm for most part of the year, then you should paint the roof a lighter color, such as white. And spray SPF or have a rubber coating on the roof for extra cooling.
However, if you live in a climate which is cold for the better part of the year, you should paint the roof in a dark color, such as dark brown or red or maroon or black. This will trap the sunrays and reduce your heating costs. But then again, snow covered roofs will reflect light away, so the dark color may not play a big role in heating the house if there is snowfall on the roof!
Choose the color and energy efficient roofing material which will suit your budget and heating/cooling requirements you may consult your local roofing companies to know the best roofing material for your area.
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Clay And Slate Roofing
Clay and slate roofing could also be good for your home. Slate looks beautiful and insulates homes easily, making it an eco friendly choice. Clay roofing is best for warm climates as it has the tendency for moisture absorption, though it reflects sunlight. It is best not to use clay roofing if your region sees hailstorms, which might damage the roof. Clay roofing can also be repurposed or recycled once it has served its purpose.
Extended Lifespan Of Your Roof
Excessive heat can seriously damage your roof. This is particularly true for asphalt roofs that degrade quickly upon exposure to the sun.
An energy-efficient roof that reflects heat and harmful sun rays will last longer. As a result, you wont have to worry about re-shingling or replacing it as often as a conventional roof.
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Subtle Versus Dramatic Roof Colors
Color can be used to create very subtle or very dramatic looks for a home, and changing just one color on the exterior can have a significant impact on its appearance. Its helpful to determine the look that you want ahead of time.
Do you want a subtle, understated exterior or something more impactful and dramatic?
Generally, the more contrast you add to the exterior, the more dramatic the final look. The less contrast, and the more the different colors have in common, the more subtle and quiet the final look.
An example of this would be to use a very cool-toned, blue roof with a tan, warm-toned siding to get a more dramatic look and using a green, warm-toned roof with a tan home for a more subtle appearance.
Another very popular roofing and siding combination that is very dramatic is to have black roof shingles and white or off-white house siding.
GAF roof shingles have a number of black or close to black shingle colors, both in the budget friendly 3-tab as well as architectural and designer shingles.
Going dramatic does not mean needing to have bold or bright colors, it just means increasing the contrast between the siding and roofing colors so that they stand out more distinctly from one another.
Modern Types Of Energy
There are several types of energy-efficient roofing materials from which to choose. If you want an authentic energy-efficient roofing system, its essential to know whether or not the product has the US Department of Energys stamp of approval with an Energy-Star logo, which is typically located somewhere on the packaging. This logo means the roofing material that youre considering meets government standards for being eco-friendly and is an energy-efficient product.
Here are some of the best roofing materials currently being installed in the US for energy-efficient residential homes:
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How Do Building Codes Impact Roof Material Choices
Building codes do play a role in the type of materials you may choose. In California, Title 24 created standards for building energy efficiency. These standards were designed to make sure that new and even existing buildings reach energy and efficiency that preserves outdoor and indoor environmental quality. New construction must meet these standards.
Solar may not be a term you think of when you think roofing shingles, but technological advances make new options possible. Solar reflection shingles are defined as having surfaces that mainly reflect infrared radiation, much more than normal roof covering does. By reflecting these light rays, it prevents the roof from transferring heat to the interior of your home. By extension, this means your home stays cooler and cuts down on your energy bills, which is also better for the environment.
An added benefit may be the longevity of these coverings. By reflecting the most damaging solar rays, the materials do not suffer from the same heat intensity. Seasonal high temperatures bearing down on roof surfaces from the sun can be very damaging. Deflecting those rays has the capacity to cool your home and extend the life of your roof.
Green is another roof covering color to increase energy efficiency, as in an eco-friendly, living roof. This concept is gaining credibility and acceptance, even in big cities like New York, prodding planning departments to update their building codes.
Effects On Energy Costs Of Highly
The U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratories have studied and reported on the effects of roof coatings that help deal with building heat load by improved solar reflection.
The graphic shown here, illustrates that a fresh-coated roof can reduce the annual cooling energy in a low-slope-roofed building by as much as 43%
And remarkably, notice that the uninsulated but fresh-coated roof performed almost as well as a roof with two-inches of insulation. .
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Choose The Right Roofing Company
Insulation, ventilation and roofing material choices have a huge impact on your homes energy costs, but so does the roofing company that does the work. If a roof isnt installed or repaired correctly, it will become more susceptible to drafts, temperature fluctuations, humidity issues and water intrusion. Even a brand new roof that is optimized for maximum energy efficiency can fail to achieve that goal if the installation job isnt done right.
Cenvar Roofing is a company of certified roofing experts that is well-respected within the industry. We believe that energy efficiency is the way of the future, and have experience installing energy efficient roofs of all kinds throughout Virginia. Whether you are looking for a professional roof inspection, or a roof replacement, we would love to help you increase the efficiency of your home. Schedule your free estimate today!
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When To Use Blended Multitone Roofing Colors
Asphalt shingle lines are produced in solid colors and blends. A design principle when it comes to blending is that the plainer the siding is, the more a blended roof color pattern is needed to make a house look interesting and appealing.
A solid black roof on a home with dark brown wood siding doesnt create a visually attractive color combination. Picture that same home with shingles that have a charcoal base but flecked with greens, tans and brown. Thus, a more appealing and interesting combination is created.
On the other hand, if the house siding color is varied, perhaps multiple shades of brick or an elegant stone front with varied colors, then color-blended shingles will clash. A solid color roof is best in these scenarios.
You will find the widest selection of blended multitone colors from premium asphalt shingles manufacturers such as CertainTeed and Malarkey Shingles.
In general, its the premium and architectural shingles that will have these beautiful multitone color shingles.
Energy Efficiency & Your Home
An energy efficient home, is typically a more comfortable home as it has a more stable temperature and therefore less reliance on heating and cooling. This naturally reduces your energy bills and helps improve your carbon footprint.
Energy efficiency is impacted by a whole range of variables including the climate, your homes orientation in relation to the sun, your homes design, surrounding trees, building materials, insulation, the number and type of windows, flooring, and the roof material. For a full range of resources, review Australias Guide to Environmentally Sustainable Homes.
As a homeowner, youll be faced with a lot of decisions to make when it comes to either building a new house or completing a home renovation. From the overall layout and design, to what type of energy-efficient roof to install, there are many important choices to make to ensure youll have maximum structural protection, as well as a highly energy-efficient home.
When it comes to roofing, its not only the material that youll need to consider. The roofing shape, level of insulation and roof colour all play a role with energy efficiency. Consider the following factors as part of the design and consult a roofing specialist if you have any further questions.
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