Running the HVAC system accounts for about half of the total energy used in an average home. If you're looking for ways to reduce your household energy consumption and save money, one vital factor to consider is how your home's roof affects the HVAC system.
The HVAC System – Roof Relationship
The amount of energy needed to maintain comfort in your home is directly affected by the sun beating down on the roof. When there's a lot of heat getting absorbed through the roof, and it radiates down into your attic and living space, your HVAC equipment has to work harder to compensate, and you'll pay higher energy bills.
Factors Affecting Rooftop Heat Absorption
Research in recent years has given us a greater understanding of the role roofing material plays in how much solar heat enters homes and other buildings. This has led to the development of roofing with two key qualities that help it stay cooler and more energy efficient:
High solar reflectance. This allows a material to reflect sunlight better, so there's less solar heat absorbed into the roof system.
High thermal emittance. These materials release a high percentage of solar radiation that does get absorbed, which reduces how much heat can be transferred into an attic and conditioned living space.
Roofing Options That Improve Efficiency
If you want to increase your home's efficiency and you're planning to have new roofing installed in the near future, here's are some materials to consider:
Cool asphalt shingles. Regular asphalt roofing is a poor solar reflector, so it tends to soak up heat. New cool shingles are topped with specially-treated granules to reflect the sun's rays.
Coated metal. Bare metal can reflect sunlight, but it doesn't emit heat well. More efficient versions feature painted or granular-coated surfaces that provide both qualities.
Clay or concrete tile. While some types of tile roofing naturally reflect sunlight and shed heat, there are also products available with treated surfaces to provide better solar reflectivity and heat emittance.
To learn more about improving HVAC system efficiency in your Broken Arrow home, contact us at Air Assurance.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273.