The weather is getting warmer and with the warmer summer weather comes the inevitable high cost that homeowners have to keep cool when they turn on their air conditioner. Across the country, particularly in areas like California and Texas, homeowners are struggling to keep their homes cool. Many residents have experienced power outages or blackouts due to electricity shortages in recent years.
In some areas, homeowners spend huge amounts of money using technology to cool their homes in the summer, while there are many areas of the world that don’t use air conditioning and live quite comfortably. These areas use a technique called “passive cooling” to keep their homes comfortable during hot seasons; Passive cooling does not require mechanical means to keep a home cool, but instead relies on strategies such as shading and ventilation to keep the home cool.
One of the best ways you can keep down the cost of staying cool this summer is to upgrade your roof to an eco-friendly reflective type that can help prevent your roof from absorbing and releasing heat back into your home. A white or reflective roof can save you months of discomfort in the summer, as well as hundreds of dollars a year in energy savings. However, a reflective roof not only saves you money, it’s also a green solution to a problem that millions of people try to solve with electrical solutions every summer.
A type of reflective roofing has the added benefit of being able to be installed on any home that already has a standard roofing material, unlike other ways passive cooling can be incorporated into a home during the construction or design stages. In some areas that are particularly warm or where the style of the house allows it, some homeowners paint the ceiling white to reap the best benefits of this type of passive cooling.
With standard asphalt shingles, substantial amounts of heat from the sun hitting your home can enter your living space; the black color traps heat on the shingles instead of reflecting it. With reflective roofing materials, whether it’s a white painted roof or reflective material shingles, your home can stay much cooler.
If you are spending large amounts of money to keep your home cool in the hot summer months or looking for a way to make your home greener, consider upgrading your home’s roof with energy efficient reflective shingles; you’ll be amazed at the big difference in comfort and in your pocket.