Benefits of Cool Roofs

A cool roof absorbs less heat and reflects more sunlight than your standard roof. They are designed with a sheet covering, a highly reflective type of paint or highly reflective shingles or tiles. A cool roof benefits just about any type of building depending on the climate. Since, Americans spend around $40 billion a year is spent on air conditioning buildings, it makes sense to investigate the benefits of cool roofs.

Benefits of Cool Roofs
There are many benefits of cool roofs, but one that stands out is the fact that they can reduce the temperature of your roof surface, which helps to reduce the heat that is transferred into your home or building. Since it keeps your ducts and attics cooler, it reduces energy costs, cuts maintenance costs, improves comfort and increases your roof’s life cycle. Other benefits include:

Reduce air conditioning costs and save yearly on electricity bills.
With time-of-use metering, you can save on the costs of peak electricity demand.
Extend roof life which replaces expenses and reduces roof maintenance.
Minimize the ‘heat island effect’ in suburbs and cities.
Minimize smog and air pollution formation.
Minimize the amount of roofing waste that is piled in landfills.

According to research reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, global warming in large urban areas could be curtailed if there were a large enough amount of these types of roofs, as well as other urban adaptation strategies. Cool roofs can also help the environment by reducing power plant emissions such as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, mercury, and nitrous oxides.

The cost of a cool roof isn’t necessarily more expensive than a non-cool roof, particularly if you are replacing an existing one or installing a new roof. However, it can get a little costly to convert a standard good condition roof into a cool roof due to costs of labor, materials, installation, and future maintenance (cleaning, repair and recoating). There might even be additional costs for labor and specialized materials.

Cool roofs, however, do save you money in a few ways such as energy savings, HVAC equipment downsizing, incentives and rebates and extended roof lifetime. Another way you can save money and energy in addition to a cool roof is by installing an attic fan with your cool roof.