As the weather grows more unpredictable and warming of the atmosphere continues unabated, people are looking for more practical and eco-friendly solutions to keep homes cooler in some natural way. And this has led to the growing popularity of cool roofs that have special capabilities of reflecting sunlight, thereby reducing the heating of the roof surface. Since the maximum heat passes into homes from the roof, when the roof receives less heat, the home interior remains cool. According to the roofing experts at Anchor Roofing Minnetonka, to make roofs more reflective, you must use some special paint that has high reflective properties. Other alternatives are using highly reflective shingles or tiles or using some special sheet to cover the roofing system, depending on the type of roof and its design.
It is natural for traditional roofs to become very hot during the summer months but only when you install a cool roof that you can make out the real difference.
What is good about cool roofs?
Cool roofs absorb only a part of the solar heat that goes inside homes and keep the indoor temperature low. It helps to maintain a moderate indoor temperature that reduces the use of cooling equipment and does a lot of good for the environment besides lowering energy bills. The non-air-conditioned areas of the home like decks and patios remain much cooler. Lesser use of cooling equipment reduces carbon emissions and emission of other harmful gases like nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide that helps to keep the environment clean. Homeowners save on energy bills, and less use of machines reduce the stress on natural resources that cuts down the instances of a power outage. Cool roofs last longer, which is the perhaps most important benefit.
Coolness depends on the roof surface
The type of roof material determines its performance and longevity as well as the level of protection that it provides to homes. Slates and tiles, wood and asphalt, metal and concrete – there are lots of roof material to choose from but to convert it into cool roof you must provide the appropriate reflective surface coating. Do not confuse the reflective coating with some elastomeric coating that people use for enhancing roof life because it does not have any cooling properties.
Reflective Roof coating
Whether the roof is new or old, you must use some reflective coating to reduce heat transfer inside homes. Some white pigments that have high reflective properties are the best ones for creating cool roofs by providing a thicker coating than paint, which reflects the major part of sunlight and reduces the heat transferred through the roof. The white pigment coating is suitable for all kinds of roof surfaces and protects it from the harmful UV rays. As the pigment has water resisting and corrosion resistant properties, it protects the roof from moisture and chemical damage too.
How much you save in energy bills should motivate you to go for cool roofs. It makes good sense to install cool roofs only when the saving is much more than the investment.
