When you’re building energy-efficient homes in Florida, you can’t skimp on your roofing material. The sun is so blazing hot most of the year that your roofing choice can directly impact a lot of other costs and savings. What is the best home roofing material for our region?
How to Rate Roofing
There are two chief factors for roofing material to be energy efficient. First is SRI, or Solar Reflectance Index. Roofs absorb heat. The more heat they absorb, the more heat they transfer into the home and the harder your AC has to work. This isn’t just about colors either. You may think a light-colored roof reflects more light and heat, but material has more to do with absorbency than color. Light-colored asphalt with specialized reflective paint will still absorb more heat than tile or metal roofing.
The second quality is emissivity, which measures how well a material emits heat. High emissivity keeps surfaces cool.
Color comes into play once you’ve already made a choice. The same materials in lighter or darker colors will impact your SRI differently. Light roofing tiles will cut down on heat absorbance better than dark ones.
Clay, Concrete, or…Metal???
Clay tiles are popular because they have a long lifespan, are easy to clean and maintain, and they’re fairly resistant to heat absorbance. They can be both heavy and fragile, though.
Concrete tiles are a fairly new solution. They’re durable but may not keep their look as long. This said, they’re light and very resistant to mold and mildew.
The best home roofing material for energy-efficient homes in Florida is metal. We’re not talking barn or stable-style metal roofing. Instead, metal tiles made from steel are made to look like shingles, tiles, or shakes. They reflect light and heat, thus keeping your home cooler underneath. This means you can save substantially on your energy costs cooling your house.
Metal roofs are also extremely durable and require very little maintenance. They’re a perfect balance of everything you need for an energy-efficient home.
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