The arrival of summer does not only bring a lot of enjoyable summer activities, but also extreme heat. While there are a lot of ways people can keep themselves cool, there’s little to no thought in keeping their roof cool. A roof that is too hot is never a good thing as it gets absorbed by the roof and raises the temperatures inside of the house or building.
Most homeowners and building owners attempt to solve the problem by increasing air condition use. It results in greater air condition requirements, staggering electricity bills, and increased discomfort in areas that are not air conditioned.
There are many ways to remedy this problem and reduce the heat from the rooftop. Here are five of the most common ways that can be implemented to keep your roof cool.
- Choose Cool Roofing Materials
The right type of materials can keep your roof cool. The traditional style of shingles makes them a popular choice for residential construction. Still, they’re generally not as reflective than the other cool roof options.
Regular asphalt shingles typically have dark colors that soak up the heat of the sun and retain it for a long time, even after the sun has gone down. It can be replaced with cool asphalt shingles with a special coating of reflective granules that helps reflect sunlight better.
Metal roofs are another popular roofing material used today. An unpainted metal roof can already reflect more solar radiation than a traditional asphalt roof. When coated in a white or light finish, it can also re-emit heat back into the atmosphere quickly. The heat will not be absorbed and stored, so your attic can stay noticeably cooler, especially during warm months.
- Apply Cool Roof Coatings
Dark-colored shingles can add heat to houses in areas that experience a lot of warmth. Homeowners can reduce heat from the rooftop and improve its solar reflectivity by applying a heat-reflective coating to its roof surfaces.
Reflective coatings work by reflecting sunlight the moment it hits the roofing surface. Additionally, the coating also exhibits thermal emittance where the absorbed heat from the roof gets reflected back instead of entering the home or building.
- Install a Green Roof
A green roof or a rooftop garden is a layer of vegetation grown on a rooftop that is more commonly installed on urban buildings with flat or slightly sloped roofs. It created an appeal as it achieves the benefits of solving common roof problems, including managing water accumulation while creating an enjoyable rooftop open space.
At the same time, green roofs also provide natural insulation. Thus, lowering the need for heating and cooling. Green roofs can reduce a condition known as urban heat island effect. This condition refers to the heat absorbed and trapped in cities and suburban developments
Rooftop gardens shade buildings from sunlight and reduce surface temperatures as well as the surrounding air temperatures through evaporation and transpiration. In turn, green roofs are so productive that the surface of a green rooftop can actually be cooler than the ambient air temperature.
However, it’s much more expensive to implement this type of roofing compared to other roof options. Any home or building owners interested in installing garden rooftops should carefully assess their property and consult a professional before doing so.
- Improve Ventilation
Keeping your roof and attic ventilated is the most efficient and effective way to keep your roof cool in the summer. The attic alone can control whether your house is cool in the summer and heated in the winter. In the heat of the summer, your attic can become overheated. This excess heat is absorbed into the roof, causing the shingles to overheat.
The shingles are then at risk of deteriorating regardless of the aforementioned preventative measures. Insulation, ridge vents, wind turbines, and radiant barriers control condensation to preserve the performance of your insulation. During summer months, warm air within your building should move through the ventilation system to get rid of the humidity.
- Roof Mist Cooling System
A roof misting system or evaporative cooling system is an excellent option for those who want to enjoy the benefits of a cool roof. It doesn’t even require replacing the existing roof or adding new surface materials or coatings. While evaporative cooling systems are used on office buildings and commercial properties, they can also be used on residential roofs.
A roof mist basically works like a garden sprinkler. These systems use sensors to monitor the roof temperature, and moisture then sprays a tiny amount of water across the roof. As the water evaporates, the roof temperature also lowers. The system needs to be connected to a water tank as it requires large amounts of water, but it does reduce the load on air conditioning systems.
Fahey Roofing Contractors has the experienced and skilled contractors you need to help you with any necessary roof repairs and roof replacement. We serve various areas in West Virginia and Ohio. If you have more questions, visit our website today or contact us at (304) 826-1323 for West Virginia and (740) 523-0380 for Ohio to learn more.