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How to Make Your Roof More Energy Efficient
The Cost of a Cool Roof
Apr 12, 2017
Cool roofs have become more popular since they were first widely distributed for commercial, industrial, and residential applications 20 years ago. Today, they make up 10 percent of the total demand for roofing products. This is due in large to these roofs’ reflectivity and high thermal emittance, reducing the trapping of heat by up to 45 percent less in 16 of California’s climate zones during the peak of summer weather.
A cool roof in ideal conditions benefits you in the following ways:
- Decreases wasteful cooling costs
- Extends the longevity of your air conditioning system’s life
- If applied to your already existing roof, it protects it from discoloring, deforming, peeling, cracking, and thermally buckling
- Causes your roof to require less maintenance work and costs for the remainder of its life when compared to a traditional roof
- Apart from your region’s natural climate, the ‘urban heat island effect’ (UHIE) won’t influence your home’s indoor climate
- Your indoor comfort is improved
The Costs of Cool Roofs
The prices associated with any new roof primarily depends on the material chosen, the roof’s square footage, the home’s location, and the man hours it takes for the system to be installed. Generally speaking, cool roof coatings for lower slope roofs cost around $0.75 to $1.50 per square foot – $1.50 to $3.00 per square foot if a single-ply cool roof membrane is used.
Going about installing a cool roof is a matter of timing. If your current roof is flat or low sloped, you won’t be paying anything extra on top of the material and installation costs because it’s easier to do the job in such cases. And the same applies for a cool roofing job that’s part of a construction project which doesn’t involve removing an old roof. If other roofing jobs are on the checklist, you might be paying more to install a cool roof because more planning and accommodation of its application might be needed. Whatever the case may be, any additional costs you pay for installing a cool roof will most likely be recouped in a matter of one to six years.
How to Not Curb Your ‘Curb Appeal’
One thing to keep in mind when choosing out of the thousands of cool roofing products out there, and that’s the appearance. If your home has a flat or slightly sloped roof, you won’t have to worry about matching it with the rest of your house. A roof with a high slope, however, will need you to choose a product that matches in color and style. And even though darker colors are less effective at the thermal emittance than brighter ones, with today’s technology it’s by a tiny margin.
Are you convinced with whether you need such a product? If not, read up on the Cons of Inefficient Roofs to see if your home falls in line with energy inefficient homes.
