How Much Hotter Is It On A Roof

The hotter an attic is the more expensive it is to cool the upstairs of a home.

How much hotter is it on a roof.

However except for reflective coated shingles some energy star rated shingles for instance or white or bare metal there is only about a 10 15 difference in the amount of energy absorbed between black and say a tan or beige and only a few percent between black and a gray red dark blue green or brown. Yes black will be hotter. A roof with a 6 rise for every 12 run has a 6 per foot or 6 in 12 pitch. It is often compared to slope but is not exactly the same.

The roof pitch is important in determining the appropriate installation method and how much roofing material will be needed. This can easily create attic temperatures as high as 125 f. A dark roof won t necessarily get that hot if you don t live somewhere that gets a lot of heat in the first place. Traditional roofs employing asphalt shingles vented attics and insulation on the floor of the attic can get extremely hot with surface roofing temperatures reaching up to 190 f during the summer.

Roof pitch or slope is a measure of vertical rise to horizontal run expressed in inches per foot. How hot your roof really gets in the summer is a variable you have some control over. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape. Color of your roof as you ve probably heard from many the color of your roof does affect how much heat is absorbed into your attic.

It s definitely something to consider when re roofing and in a new construction project and you might be able to take steps to cool things down on the roof you already have. Roof pitch is the measurement of a roof s vertical rise divided by its horizontal run. In the united states a run of 12 inches 1 foot is used and pitch is measured as the rise of the roof over 12 inches. Plus new coating technologies are being developed all the time.

Taking advantage of this natural process referred to as passive ventilation is the most common way to vent an attic. In cold climates roofs can accumulate moisture through condensation and it is possible that cool roofs might be more susceptible to. Some roof coatings include special chemicals that prevent mold or algae growth for a few years.