Hot Arizona Summers? Cool Roofs Can Keep You Comfortable And Save Your Money

If your Arizona home is not air-conditioned, you have probably noticed that indoor temperatures are unbearably high during the Arizona summer months and your home continues to be hot for several hours after sunset. On the other hand, if your home is air-conditioned, you are probably surprised by your high energy bills during summer. The problem may have something to do with the type of roof that you have. Many conventional Phoenix roofs work like heaters, which heat up homes during the day and keep indoor temperatures high even after sunset. This is something that you can definitely do without, especially if you are living in the hotter parts of the country. Upgrading to a cool roof can solve this problem. Besides greater comfort and lower utility bills, you will also incur lower maintenance costs.

Understanding roof heating:

Sunlight consists of radiation in various wavelengths. About 43% of the energy is visible light, about 5% is invisible ultraviolet radiation and the remaining 52% consists of infrared radiation. Infrared radiation is not visible, but we feel it as heat when our body is exposed to sunlight. Depending upon the type of material that a roof is made up of, it can either absorb or reflect solar radiation. The ability of a surface to reflect solar radiation is measured by a property called solar reflectance. As the temperature of a surface rises, it begins to radiate heat to its surroundings. A surface exposed to the sun, keeps getting hotter until it reaches an equilibrium temperature at which the amount of heat it absorbs equals the amount of heat it radiates. This temperature depends on a surface property called thermal emittance.

Conventional roofs have a low solar reflectance and thermal emittance. They absorb a significant portion of the energy received from the sun and give up very little of it through radiation. As a result, these roofs get very hot during the day. Cool roofs are made up of special materials and are designed to have high solar reflectance, thermal emittance or both. This limits the amount of heat that these roofs absorb or accumulate. The difference in temperature between a conventional roof and a cool roof can be as high as 60°F on a peak summer day. In the US, it is estimated that a conventional roof can reach temperatures of up to 185°F in peak summer.

If you are planning to have a new home constructed or are renovating your existing home, using cool roofing products makes a lot of sense. However, existing homeowners need not be disappointed. Cool roof options are available for almost any type of roof and upgrading to a cool roof will be an improvement that will be worth spending money on. The resulting savings will help you recover your investment quickly and you will continue to enjoy the benefits and savings for many more years.

Benefits of cool roofs:

• Lower indoor temperatures keep the occupants comfortable. This is a blessing for homes without air-conditioning.
• Cool roofs reduce the amount of time your air-conditioner operates, which reduces energy consumption and cost.
• As a result of reduced load on the cooling system, your air-conditioning system will require less maintenance. This saves your time and money.
• It increases the life of the roof and reduces maintenance requirements, which means more savings.
• It increases the value of your home and is an advantage when you want to rent or sell.
• Heat island effect is the formation of isolated areas of higher temperatures near groups of buildings. It occurs because the buildings heat up the surrounding air. Cool roofs reduce your home’s contribution to the heat island effect.
• Cool roofs are environment friendly because they result in lower consumption of energy. This reduces your carbon footprint and your contribution to greenhouse gases and global warming.

Cost implications of cool roofs:

The only disadvantage of a cool roof is that it increases the amount of heating required during winters. However, with proper insulation techniques that minimize the loss of heat from homes in winter, it is possible to benefit from cool roofs even in cold regions. The amount of energy savings is a trade-off between reduced cooling requirements and increased heating needs. However, the other benefits like increased roof life and lower maintenance and Phoenix roof repair requirements, makes it worthwhile irrespective of the climate in the region. If roof repair isn’t an option, finding a shingle roofing contractor in Phoenix may be your next best option, or having tile roofing installed in Phoenix.

While considering the costs and benefits of cool roofs, it is important to note that the cost of installing a cool roof is almost the same as that of a conventional roof. Most conventional roofs can be easily upgraded to cool roofs without any major investment. Depending upon the type of roof (low slope or steep slope) and the type of roofing materials used, various cool roof options are available. Most solutions involve the use of coatings or additional covering materials to improve the solar reflectance or thermal emittance of conventional roofs.

If your home with a conventional roof is getting unbearably hot during the summer or you are feeling the heat of high air-conditioning bills, consider calling a Peoria roofing contractor to upgrade to a cool roof. You will see immediate benefits in terms of comfort and savings and you can recover the cost of the improvement quickly. It is also an environment friendly option.