The summer of 2012 has been excruciatingly hot and dry for most Americans. The soaring temperatures have given way to soaring air conditioning bills. Purchasing room darkening blinds, keeping the drapes closed throughout the day, these are quick solutions to keeping the heat out, but a more permanent solution may be right over your head.
Our homes’ roofs provide us shelter from the rain, the cold and the excessive heat. However, sometimes our roofs fail to insulate our homes to a standard that is desirable. Making changes to your roof is an investment that pays year after year.
What color is your roof? Is it black, dark brown, brick red? Lighter colored roofs keep homes cooler. It is the same concept that the meteorologists explain when they tell you to wear light colored clothes during a heat wave. Light colors reflect the sun. Dark colors absorb it. Therefore, if your home has an extremely dark roof, your air conditioner is going to have to fight harder to cool down the absorbed heat.
Proper ventilation also reduces the amount of energy needed to cool your home. If your attic is vented (most people’s attics are) you need to have enough ventilation at the eaves and at the gable ends. However, if your budget allows, you could hire a roofing contractor to spray foam insulation along the roof-line and close off your vents entirely. Insulation along the roof-line and keeping heat from reentering the attic from the midday sun would keep your attic in a semi-permanent air conditioned state.
If you need to replace your roof because of age or damage from a storm, you may want to consider a different type of material other than the standard fiberglass shingles. There are materials available at all price points, although most materials other than fiberglass will cost a bit more than a standard fiberglass roof. Clay shingles, depending on the climate in which you live and the type of home you have, are a good, albeit expensive, option. Their lifespan can outlive a human and because there is air space between the tiles and the roof, they work efficiently as keeping your home cool.
When it comes to making energy-conserving changes to your home, don’t forget to start from the top down. A roof is often overlooked, but it contributes to a home’s energy conservation as much as turning off lights when leaving a room. Lighter colored roofs, proper ventillation and installation as well as the roofing materials themselves are a package that will determine if you home will be a cool sanctuary during the summer months or a hot box that leaves you sweating.
What energy saving steps have you taken to make your roof work more efficiently for you?
About Denise McGrail![[Google]](/wp-content/plugins/easy-adsense-lite/google-light.gif)
