As high temperatures and humidity rolls on, most Georgian’s have one thing on their minds, staying cool. For homeowners, making your home as energy efficient as possible during these time is paramount.
Roof materials play a large part in keeping your home cool and they can make a big difference during the more extreme days. Some materials are better than others but when it comes to keeping a home cool, nothing beats a metal roof.
Most people are surprised to hear that metal roofs are considered the most energy efficient and many will bring up misconceptions like it being shiny and attracting heat, or that metal can conduct heat and could end up heating your home instead of cooling it. Nothing could be further from the truth instead, the opposite is true for both.
Metal Roof Reflectivity
Even basic, unpainted metal roofs will reflect more solar radiation than asphalt roofs. By choosing the proper colors and coatings, low-glare metal roofs will reflect most of the invisible, infrared and UV rays, the type that produce the most heat and do more damage. Metal roofs emit as much as 85% of the solar radiation that hits your roof and that alone will make your home much cooler.
Metal roof materials come in all kinds of shapes, textures, types and finishes, so the argument that it’s too shiny or that the shine would attract heat rather than reflect doesn’t hold water. You can have a shiny metal roof or a asphalt shingle looking metal roof, these days, it’s all up to you but either will do the job.
Cool Roofs
Many metal roofs are ENERGY-STAR qualified and are known as “Cool Roofs”. We’re not talking Fonzi cool, this is actual cool as in rated by how much solar radiation is reflected and emitted. These metal roofs can conserve energy by as much as 50%! In fact, the EPA estimates that an ENERGY STAR labeled roof can lower roof temperatures by as much as 100 degrees Fahrenheit! Now that is Fonzi cool!
Metal Roof Installation
Metal roofs are great but they are only as good as they are installed which is why you want to be sure you hire someone specifically trained in metal roofing and with experience to do the job right the first time. Proper insulation, air flow, and ventilation is key to improving you home energy efficiency so do your homework and be sure you are hiring a professional.
Your roof protects your home from the elements all year round and will affect your budget no matter the temperature outside. When it comes to maximum energy efficiency in hot or cold weather, a metal roof just makes sense.
In Metro Atlanta, Atlanta Roofing Specialists is your metal roofing experts. To schedule your metal roof inspection and estimate call (770) 419-2222 today!