Your roof is designed to keep heat in during the winter months, but it’s also useful for keeping your home cool during the summer. If you’re looking for a replacement roof, spend a moment thinking about the roof’s color and materials and how to keep the roof cool. Those things could make more of a difference than you think.
How to Keep a Roof Cool in the Summer
Your home’s roof is a large surface, and it gets a lot of exposure to the sun during the warmer months of the year. One thing a lot of people don’t realize is that some roof types absorb so much heat they can become as much as 50 degrees warmer than the ambient air temperature.
That excess heat can damage your roof and make your home feel unpleasantly warm. These tips will help you keep your roof cool.
1. Choose Lighter-Colored Shingles
Dark colors absorb heat energy from the sun while light colors reflect heat. This means it makes sense for people who live in very cold areas to have a dark roof. If you’re worried about how hot your attic gets during the summer, however, lighter-colored shingles can make a big difference.
At Thompson Creek, we offer a variety of roof types to choose from and shingles in six different colors. This makes it easy for you to find the perfect style for your home. Timberline shingles are longwearing and durable, making them a good choice if you want an attractive, long-lasting roof.
2. Plant Trees for Increased Shade
The design of your garden can have a significant impact on the thermal performance of your home. Using shrubs and bushes to shade your living room windows is a popular tactic for reducing thermal heat gain. The same technique can be applied to your roof.
Tall trees can offer some shade, giving your roof a chance to cool down during the day. This won’t stop the roof from warming up at noon when the sun is directly overhead, but it can make a big difference over the course of a day.
3. Ventilate Your Attic
The quality of your attic’s ventilation has a huge impact on how comfortable your home feels in the winter and summer and the overall structural integrity of the property. Poor ventilation can lead to condensation and damp issues, as well as ice damming in the winter.
It can also contribute to the roof overheating in the summer. If the heat can’t escape your attic efficiently, the shingles may overheat. When things heat up, they expand and then contract as they cool. Each time this happens, it causes microscopic damage to the shingles. Excessive heat can accelerate the rate at which your roof breaks down.
Thompson Creek roofs make use of the Cobra Attic Roof Ventilation System, which helps get rid of excess heat while also reducing the risk of damp and mold issues.
Find a New Roof For Your Home Today
If you’re looking for a new roof that looks great and keeps your home at a comfortable temperature year-round, contact Thompson Creek today. Our team would be happy to explain the roof types available to you and help you find the perfect style for your property.