If you’re in the market for a new roof, it’s likely you’ve scrolled across the term ‘cool roof’. This is a fairly new term that has been added to the roofing industry. We’re going to discuss what a cool roof is and how it can be beneficial to your home or office.
What Is A Cool Roof?
It’s not a big surprise to many people that standard roofs tend to absorb heat. If you go up into your attic in the middle of the summertime, it gets super hot. A cool roof is meant to combat this fault in standard roofs. Any roof that is coined as a cool roof is one that is made of a highly reflective material that keeps it from absorbing unwanted heat from the sun.
A cool roof can be made in a few different ways. It can have paint that is highly reflective to the sunlight. It can have a sheet covering or reflective shingles that don’t absorb the sun’s lights. The whole concept behind a cool roof is that it’s like wearing light-colored clothing. These light colors are much cooler than wearing dark colors in the summertime.
What Are The Main Benefits Of A Cool Roof?
A cool roof can provide many different benefits for the homeowner. The most obvious being that it can reduce energy bills in the summertime. This is because you won’t have to use your air conditioner as much. With a cool roof not absorbing the heat, it won’t feel as hot in your home as it would if you had a standard roof. In this same sense, you’ll find that other areas of your home that don’t naturally have air conditioning will feel cooler in the hot summer months.
One of the biggest problems with standard roofs is that the heat can prematurely damage the roofing materials. By using materials that reflect the sun’s light, you can easily extend the life of your roofing materials. The longer that you can make your roof last, the better it’s going to be on your wallet.
Types Of Cool Roofing Products
Many factors will determine the type of roofing products that you use on your home. To start, the slope of your roof is going to sway the decision of what roofing material you’ll need. Some materials are just not very effective on sloped roofs. Second, your budget will also determine what type of product you can physically afford. Let’s take a look at some of the types of cool roofs that are installed on homes across the country.
Built-Up Roof
With this roof construction, you’ll use a combination of asphalt, coal tar pitch, and a capsheet. The initial roof is made up of asphalt and insulation or coal tar pitch. This material is then covered with a capsheet. The capsheet is what contains the cooling product that reflects UV light from your roof.
Foam Roof
When your roof requires additional insulation, a foam roofing option is typically within your best interests. There are two types of foam roofing systems that you can buy. These are field-applied and factory-applied systems. Field-applied foam roofs are applied via spraying a liquid that is combined with a cooling solution. As the liquid dries, it hardens and creates a reflective roof surface. Factory-applied roofs are those which are constructed with pre-made rigid roof panels that are coated with a UV reflective substance.
Metal Roof
Metal is preferred in many instances as it can fit unique curvatures in the room. You can purchase metal roofing materials in all colors and textures. The cooling effect of these roofs is done with a reflective coating that is put on the surface of the metal. Reflective coatings are now available in all hues, not just traditional light colors.
