Cool Roof Options for Your Home

If it’s time to replace the roof on your home, consider going a step further and installing a cool roof. A cool roof won’t make your house colder during the winter, but it will help beat the heat and lower your energy bills during the hot Nebraska summer. A roof under the heat of the summer sun can reach 150 degrees F or more, where as a cool roof in the same conditions can be up to 50 degrees cooler.

Learn more about your cool roof options.

Roofing Materials

The material you choose for your roof will have the most impact on temperature and whether the roof becomes a heat sink.

Asphalt Shingles

Asphalt shingles are a favorite for residential homes due to their durability and cost. Fortunately, there are cool roof options in asphalt shingles that are still cost effective and attractive. The simplest option is to default to light colored shingles — white or light gray shingles reflect more light and heat than dark colored shingles.

You can also install specially coated asphalt shingles. The coatings are reflective, sometimes from the addition of aluminum flakes, so that heat and light is reflected away from the roof regardless of the underlying shingle color.

Metal Roofs

Another popular option for homes are metal roofs. A solar reflective metal roof can reflect up to 70 percent of the heat away from your home, according to Green Building Alliance. This can lead to major energy savings that can offset the slightly increased cost of metal roofs

As a side benefit, metal roofs are more storm damage resistant than asphalt shingles, which can be useful during the Nebraska storm and tornado season.

Roof Coatings

If you are ready to try cool roof technologies, but it isn’t yet time for a roof replacement, there are additional options for existing roofs.

Pigment Options

Pigmentation can have an effect on how cool your roof is. Dark colored roofs absorb heat, which can then seep into your home. Lighter colored roofs have a higher albedo, which means they reflect light and heat and stay cooler.

Pigmented coatings can be applied to existing roofs. A white coating can reflect between 70 and 80 percent of the heat, according to Green Building Alliance. If white isn’t your preference, then you can opt for a colored coating. Colored pigmentation only reflects about 20 percent of the heat, but still offers some protection from the sun.

Reflective Coatings

You don’t have to change the color of your roof, though. Reflective coatings can come in any color. Most often, these coatings are clear or translucent. These coatings are designed to reflect light and heat, including UV rays. A reflective coating prevents more heat absorption than colored pigment coatings but less than most white coatings.

Ventilation

There is more to a cool roof than just the main cladding materials. Hot air in the home rises and becomes trapped in the attic, increasing the heat sink issue unless the air is vented outside.

Vent System

Every roof needs to have sufficient vents to allow the hot air to move through and out of the attic. In most homes, this is achieved with a series of ridge top vents and soffit vents. The ridge vents typically run along the ridge line, although larger or more complicated roof designs may have additional vents between the ridge and eaves.

Soffit vents are placed on the soffits, which are beneath the eaves. Cool air moves in through the soffit vents and forces the hot air out through the ridge vents.

Attic Fans

Sometimes ventilation is not enough to keep the hot air moving out of the attic. An attic ventilation fan offers a little extra help. These fans help move the air from the soffit vents and through the ridge vents.

Some fans also cool your home by pulling hot air more efficiently from the living areas below and moving it out of the attic vents.

Contact Done Right Home Improvements, to learn more about your options for a cooler and more energy efficient roof.