Categories: roofing

How Your Roof Helps You Save Energy

In many instances, homeowners choose to get roof inspections or repairs whenever a serious incident occurs on their roofing system. After a severe storm, homeowners might have the urge to go up their roofing system to check if everything is functioning properly and intact. Your residential roofing contractor would agree with you if you said that your roof is one of the most important parts of your home – and for good reason. As such, it’s important to take care of it and prolong its life for as long as you can. 

Your trusted roofing contractor would suggest that you conduct regular inspections and maintenance to ensure that your roofing system can perform at its best for as long as possible. After all, protecting your roof means that you’re protecting the rest of your home as well. Aside from securing your home and wrapping up its entire design, it also provides you with insulation, keeping your living space nice and cozy. In fact, it even increases your property’s value and energy savings, netting you monetary savings in the long run

Here’s how your roof can help you save energy.

Provides Ventilation

If your home isn’t properly ventilated, hot air can stay trapped in your attic, causing shingle blisters and the rest of your living space to become uncomfortably hot. Remember that roofs are built with ventilation to ensure proper airflow between the attic and the outdoors. This is why it’s important to ensure that your roof is in great condition with proper ventilation to prevent these issues and to maintain energy efficiency.

Solar Reflection Helps Your Home

Your roofing contractor will tell you that roofs with high solar reflection can help reduce the surface temperature of your home by around 30%. That’s why roofing contractors imply that a roofing system with good solar reflective properties has high energy efficiency. If your roof can’t reflect solar heat efficiently, then the shingles will absorb solar heat, which will then spread the heat within your living space.

Shingle Color Is Important

Did you know that the color of your shingles matter? Aside from improving your home’s aesthetic value and curb appeal, it also affects its energy efficiency. For instance, a dark-colored roof can absorb more heat during the summer. Meanwhile, light-shaded roofs tend to fend off heat better. This is why the roofing color of your choice should be appropriate for where you live and the local climate. 

Your residential roofing contractor will tell you that it can also significantly impact your monthly utility expenses. Homes in cold-weather climates will benefit more from using dark-colored shingles while homes in tropical or hot climates should have a lighter color to help deflect sunlight.

Use Modern Shingles

It’s important to have a roof replacement project done when you have an old, dysfunctional roofing system. Remember that aging shingles have lower ratings compared to modern shingles. This is because, with today’s manufacturing standards, it’s common to see new roofs that can shrug off high winds going at speeds of 130 miles per hour (mph) or more, which isn’t possible with older units. Keep in mind that modern shingles can protect your home against the elements while reducing your monthly expenditures.

Look For the ENERGY STAR® Rating

ENERGY STAR® is the name you can trust when you’re looking for building materials or home improvement products that are energy-efficient. When you spot the ENERGY STAR label on a product, you can rest easy knowing that the product you’ve picked is superior and more energy-efficient when compared to its contemporaries. 

Your roofing contractor will tell you that roofs with the ENERGY STAR label can reflect more solar heat than normal roofs. In fact, it can significantly lower your roof’s surface temperature by up to 50 degrees. This makes your structure more energy-efficient and comfortable. Remember that a comfortable home reduces the need for artificial heating and cooling, which further drives down HVAC demand by up to 10% to 15%.

Granted, there are many benefits to using reflective roofing, but it’s also important to purchase roofing products based on the expected calculated energy savings you can get based on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Cool Roof Calculator.

How to Make Your Roof Even More Energy-Efficient

Now you know the ways your roof helps you save energy, there are more methods that you can utilize to ensure that your roof is more energy efficient and eco-friendly. Here are some Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) approved energy-efficient roofing upgrades that can alleviate the load from your HVAC units during the peak months to help you even save more on energy expenditures:

  • Improve Your Roof Deck Insulation
    Roof maintenance experts will tell you that air holes in your roof that can significantly affect its energy efficiency. This is why it’s important to seal them up to ensure they’re properly covered and that indoor air isn’t wasted. Remember that proper insulation prevents heat from getting into your home during the warmer months and escaping during the cold months. To put this in perspective, a well-insulated deck and attic can reduce your monthly energy bills by 11%.
  • Add Ventilation in Your Attic
    You can thoroughly control the airflow that comes in and out of your home through having proper ventilation in your attic or crawl space. This can be further amplified by using a ventilator, which can help stabilize and control the temperature that enters your home and in your living area.

If you’re looking for a residential and commercial roofing contractor who excels in quality and customer service, trust in AQ Roofing LLC! We take pride in what we do, and we put our passion into our work. We are the top roofer in Sherwood, AR. Rest assured that all of our services will protect your home’s energy efficiency and structural integrity. We care for each property as if it were our own. Call us at (501) 214-7167, or fill out our contact form to request an estimate. We look forward to working with you!

Marcos Quijano

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