How to Stay Cool With a Metal Roof
Does metal roofing make a difference on energy efficiency?
It’s time for David Martin to think about reroofing his house, and he likes what he hears about a standing-seam metal roof. The material is durable, can be recycled, and is compatible with solar panels should he decide to add them at a later date. For these reasons, a metal roof seems to have some distinct advantages over asphalt shingles.
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Job-Site Recycling: Asphalt Roofing Shingles
One thing that bothers him, though, are industry assertions that a light-colored metal roof may be able to cut energy use by as much as 25% when compared to a roof clad in dark asphalt. Given that advertising claims fall somewhat short of reality, he writes in a post at GreenBuildingAdvisor’s Q&A forum, should he believe this one?
Although some consumers (and GBA readers) may buy into the idea that metal roofing can win Energy Star accreditation while asphalt shingles can’t, that’s not the case. As it turns out, Energy Star guidelines are based on performance criteria, not materials.
Read the whole story in this month’s Q&A Spotlight.
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I have a MEt-Tile metal roof on both my house and very large garage and workshop. The color is a forest green but the roof is in a simulated spanish tile type design. The result is the roof ventilates itself between the underside of the metal roofing and the roof sheeting tar paper/ice shield. Each convex half tile crates and air path above the roof sheeting and cools the metal roof. HAve had one for about 8 years and one for 3 years and so far I like them. The snow also slides off very nicely.
When I reroofed the house I also added spray foam insulation in the roof in the 'hot roof' style and I felt better about that with the air flow the roofing provides. One drawback of the combination of a metal roof and the 'hot roof' foam insulation is the rain is noisier than when I had the metal roof and traditional fiberglass insulation. I think their is better sound coupling, even though the total R value is greater with the foam.
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