A Cool Roof Makes for a Cool Home

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Roofing materials can protect your home from the elements and cut energy costs. Homeowners typically look for innovative home cooling methods to keep their dwellings comfortable, while leaving a few dollars off their monthly electricity bill. This is especially true amid the summer months in scorching hot states like Utah and Arizona. While it occurs to most people that they can turn off their air conditioners when they run errands or go on vacation, or use fans that use less energy when the heat becomes bearable, scientific roofing technology can be a viable solution to keep you from sweltering during the summer.

Living Green magazine reports that traditional black roofs absorb light and heat from the sun, which is partly why densely populated city blocks can become very comfortable places to live during a heat wave. One way to combat this is installing reflective roofing panels or coatings, which send sunbeams flying back into the atmosphere.

While profiling long-time roofing technology advocate, Clinton Administration energy policy adviser and Commissioner of the California Energy Commission Arthur H. Rosenfeld, Grist magazine goes into greater detail about the environmental benefits of reflective roofing. If less heat is being trapped on the Earth, the amount of greenhouse gases that get stuck in the atmosphere actually goes down, according to the source.

In a hypothetical scenario where all the cities in tropical or temperate areas converted the tops of buildings into white roofs, it would cut the world's carbon emissions about as much as it would if the earth contained 300 million fewer cars, reports Living Green.

Rosenfeld has championed energy-efficient roofing for energy conservation, as well as its capacity to reduce smog. But that feature may not be pertinent to people residing in suburban or rural areas where smog is not an issue.

That does not mean advances in roofing technology only apply to cities. Consider the roof of an Australian desert estate featured in Jetson Green. Not only is the roof white to keep the sun from pounding on the home, but it's actually a second roof raised above the original. The elevation between the roofs creates a layer of air between the house and the sky's blistering heat.

Either white reflective panels or white elastomeric coatings Do the most effective job at redirecting sunlight, Permanent Living Green's report that white roofs often are not aesthetically preferable for residential buildings. But scientists specializing in sunlight have figured out ways for roof paneling and coatings of darker hues to deflect heat, although not as thoroughly as white roofing.

The Cool Roof Rating Council reports that you could save up to 30 percent on summer utility bills with an energy efficient roof. So if you're thinking about upgrading your home or would like to pay less for electricity during the summer, your local contracting company can give you information on the best cool roof technology for your structure.

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