September may be upon us, but if you’ve lived in Texas for very long, you know that the hot temperatures aren’t quite finished with us yet. How has your utilities bill looked this summer? Was it higher than you were comfortable with? Did it feel like you had to crank up the air conditioning just to feel comfortable in your own home on the hottest days of the year? Believe it or not, the problem (or the solution) could be your roof. The type of roof you have over your home can determine how much heat is conducted into your home and, subsequently, how much air conditioning you’ll need to keep the place cool. Here are some tips for keeping your home cool from the top down.
Insulation
As with anything else, having proper insulation will help solve the problem by about 10-15%. Make sure that the ceiling beneath your roof is insulated and that the insulation is still in good shape and doesn’t need replacement. Insulation will help solve the problem and save you a bit on energy costs, but it won’t completely solve the problem. For that, you’ll need to focus on remodeling your roof, starting with a new color.
Color
You probably already know to wear lighter colors during the summer rather than darker colors to keep yourself cool. You might have learned this in school, or it might just be years of practice. Sunlight reflects off of lighter colors like white and yellow and is absorbed into black and dark blues. The more sunlight your outfit absorbs, the hotter and stuffier you’ll feel. The same goes for the color of your roof. A dark-colored roof will absorb heat, which will seep into your house, making it feel stuffy. A light roof color, such as a light gray, will reflect the sunlight and stay only a few degrees hotter than it is outside. If you have a dark roof, you can use a cool roof coating, a thick paint used to reflect sunlight and protect the roof from harmful UV rays, to cool it down.
Roofing Materials
You’ve no doubt felt at some point how hot an asphalt road can feel in the heat of summer. The asphalt on a shingled roof is similar. Asphalt roofs will absorb the sunlight that hits the roof and significantly raise the temperature of your home. On the other hand, consider using an energy efficient metal that conducts sunlight back into the atmosphere, keeping your home cool and your utilities bill low. The light color and reflective surface of the metal work to reflect sunlight rather than absorb it as asphalt will.
If you feel you need a more energy efficient, cool roof for your home, talk to an experienced contractor about the next steps to take. With 20 years of experience serving Brazos Valley, Windham Construction can give you the best advice to keep your roof cool and your energy bill low.
