How To Cool A Metal Roof

A cool roof is a roof designed to maintain a lower surface temperature in bright sunshine than a traditional roof source.

How to cool a metal roof.

Many manufacturers have embraced metal roof technology. Lighter colored metal roofs such as white and gray are better able to cool off a home. While the term cool roof is sometimes used to describe any roofing surface that is cooler than a standard rooftop green certification. Metal roofs don t have to be steel or aluminum colored nor do they need to look like corrugated tin.

Let s take a look at the most common types of metal roofs for houses. Metal roofs are available with natural metallic finishes oven baked paint finishes or granular coated surfaces. There are several measures homeowners can take to help cool off their homes when they have a tin roof. For 2016 you can earn a 500 tax credit for installing a cool metal roof to your primary residence.

Unpainted metals are typically good solar reflectors but poor thermal emitters so they rarely satisfy low slope cool roof requirements. A metal roof can also make you eligible for tax credits. Even at r50 cool roofs can produce a measurable cooling energy savings compared to a low albedo roof even if it comes without a noticeable difference in comfort for the occupants. An affordable option and easier to lay than shingles tin is the most commonly used type of metal roofing.

In the case of a cool metal roof a lower surface temperature translates into less heat gain into the attic space or living space below the roof. Department of energy the surface of a cool roof reflects more sunlight and releases more heat than a so called hot or dark roof. Its surface finish plays a major role in its cooling abilities. Metal roofs are probably the most expensive first cost cool roof solution but they also have a favorable life cycle cost which shouldn t be ignored.

How they can be made cool. Trying to keep your home cool in the summer months is one of the disadvantages of a tin roof. A cool metal roof with high solar reflectance and high thermal emittance would have a lower surface temperature as compared to a roof with low reflectance and low emittance.