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Should you paint your roof white to fight global warming?
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Follansbee's KlassicKolors Regal Red metal roofing was
specified for this new weekend home on the Chesapeake
Bay. The home's design and roof recalls the original
homes and barns in the area.
Recently, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu suggested one way homeowners could help fight global warming was to paint their roofs white to reflect sunlight. Not surprisingly, homeowners are balking. Painting your roof white could reduce your cooling costs, but what will the neighbors say? And what happens in the winter, when additional heat is needed inside your home?
Fortunately for some, there is an alternative. Highly reflective "cool" colored metal roofs look just like traditional roofs, and provide year-round relief from high energy costs. The pigments in a darker colored cool metal roof reflect solar heat gain instead of absorbing it, achieving the benefits of a lighter colored roof without sacrificing looks.
"We've heard from many consumers who report that a white roof just won't work in their community. Curb appeal rules, and a white roof is just not appropriate in many cases," says Bill Hippard, president of the non-profit Metal Roofing Alliance. "Rather than hear complaints from neighbors, many homeowners looking to reduce year-round energy costs are choosing darker colored, yet highly reflective, metal roofs."
Tests conducted by the independent Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) indicate that a cool metal roof can save a homeowner up to 25% in cooling costs compared to a dark-gray asphalt shingle.
Here's a close-up of a Western Wood Shake metal roof,
proving that metal roofs can be very attractive.
In areas with cold winters, above-sheathing ventilation is the key to achieving year-round benefits. New ORNL research shows that additional savings are possible if metal roofs are installed with an air-ventilation gap above the sheathing-the cool roof and air gap save energy in the summer, and the air space cuts heat loss in the winter.
ORNL's field tests have shown that the combination of venting and increased reflectance can reduce the heat penetrating the roof deck by about 45 percent for stone-coated metal roofs compared to an asphalt shingle roof in certain climates. Ongoing research with standing-seam cool-colored metal roofs is showing similar results.
The improved summer performance coupled with the reduced heat losses during the winter show that high solar reflectance metal roofs negate the "heating penalty" associated with a white roof.
"Some ideas are better in theory than in practice," continues Hippard. "The old concern of 'not in my back yard' is hard to overcome when consumers are making home improvement choices. Metal roofing provides the perfect solution - it's good for the environment, saves money and preserves the home's beauty for decades."
As for cost, metal roofs are more expensive than traditional asphalt roofs. However, while an asphalt roof needs to be replaced every 10 to 15 years, a metal roof will probably never need to be replaced.
The MRA was formed to answer homeowners' questions about residential metal roofing, including their energy benefits and environmental impact. For more information, visit www.metalroofing.com.
If you enjoyed this article, you may also be interested in reading these articles: Insulate Your Attic to Improve Energy Efficiency or Replace or Repair Your Front Door to Save Energy.
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