Can Your Home’s Paint Color Affect Its Temperature

If you are currently making plans to paint your home, are you considering how the colors will affect the temperature of your home? You may live in a hot climate without air conditioning and need all the help you can get. Or, you may be looking to save on energy costs. Either way, you should know that colors can and do have a considerable effect on your home’s temperature.

How Colors Affect Your Home’s Temperature
Color has a lot more influence on the temperature inside your home than you might think. When choosing colors for the exterior especially, consider more than just how it looks and your own taste preferences.

For example, if you prefer dark navy for the walls, you might want to reconsider, since dark colors can make it the area hotter. This is because some colors absorb heat, while others cause heat to reflect away from the home.

Just like when you choose your clothing, you wear lighter colors when it’s hot and sunny. The same thing can be said for choosing the color of your car. If you have a black car, you know it gets hotter than a white car.

The same concept works for your home and the colors of the walls and exterior of the home. Since lighter colors reflect more light, this causes the heat to reflected away from the home. If you had colors that absorb light and heat, that heat remains in the home, causing it to feel hotter.

Colors That Alter the Temperature
When using colors to reduce the temperature inside your home, you want to avoid colors that tend to absorb more of the sun’s energy, which then results into a warmer home. Dark and dull colors have a tendency to absorb all that heat. Instead, choose light and white shades of paint for the exterior of your home. These colors are good at reflecting the sun’s heat from the home, which can help cool off your home. White paint can give you about 35 percent less heat than if you had black or other dark-colored walls. If you don’t like white exteriors or walls in your home, choose “cool” colors like light blues and pinks.

Other Ways to Stay Cool
In addition to painting your house colors that help to cool off the interiors, there are also some other ways to reduce the temperature and avoid having to keep the air conditioner turned on. One great way is to use a whole house fan. This fan, installed in your attic or on the top level of your home, near the roof, helps supply cool air throughout your home without having to rely on the A/C. it helps to keep your house cool while also reducing your energy costs.

The materials your house is made of can also make a difference. If you are planning on doing remodeling, consider concrete or brick for the walls of your home. These materials naturally reduce the overall temperature.

Now that you know how colors affect the temperature inside your home, you can adjust the interior and exterior colors to reflect this.