The late, great Michael Jackson once sang, "It doesn't matter if you're black or white." But when it comes to your roof, it really does matter. A black (or dark) roof absorbs heat on a sunny day--which is great in the winter--and a white roof reflects the sun--which is great in the summer. But for each roofing color, those advantages turn to disadvantages as the earth moves to the other side of the sun. The black roof turns the home into a sauna in the summer, driving up cooling costs, and the white roof reflects badly needed heat in the winter, elevating the heating costs.
Thanks to a handful of recent genius MIT graduates, the human race can now lay claim to color-changing roofing tiles. White in the hot months and black in the cold, the tiles use a technology that changes their color in response to temperature.
Bottom line figures: In their "white state," the tiles reflect as much as 80 percent of the sunlight, potentially saving up to 20 percent in cooling costs. "Black state" figures have yet to be released.
No word yet on what shade the tiles take on under overcast conditions. Rooftop mosaic, anyone?
Do you ever feel bad about your home repair skills (or lack thereof)? Take heart, at least you are not the person who did this. Not many people would think to funnel all the water collected by their gutters into the crawl space under their home. But this person did.
The inspector who discovered this tragedy does not mention the cost of repair. He did say that there were several feet of standing water. Anyone want to venture a guess at how much this would cost to repair?
Do you love the look and durability of tropical hardwoods but hate the idea of destroying the rainforest? The Norwegian based company Kebony has found a solution. Their "kebonization" process is a non-toxic treatment that gives softwoods that exist outside of the rainforest like maple and pine the strength of teak and ipe.
The kebonization process involves soaking the wood in furfuryl alcohol, a waste byproduct from sugar cane, that is completely non-toxic, unlike other pressure treating methods. The resulting wood can be used for siding, roofs and decking and is so strong the company claims roofs built using it can last 30 years.
Alas, the company has not yet opened an American office. Until then, the material must be imported from Europe. Kebony, come to the U.S.!
There's a move afoot (or well, over-head), to encourage you to make your dark roof, white. Nobel laureate physicist and Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, is on a campaign to cut Americans' air conditioning costs (which has the side benefit of reducing global warming), by advising you to paint your roof white.
So far California, Georgia and Florida are encouraging builders to install white roofs on commercial buildings. But critics say that white roofs in cooler climates create higher heating bills in the winter.
Is this something that would work for you? According to About.com, painting a 2,000 square foot roof will require about 14 gallons on the first coat, costing about $482 using HyperGlass Cool Top Coat (shipping not included). A second coat would require seven gallons, costing around $241.
And how much savings would result? If you know the technical details, you can calculate the payback with an energy calculator from the Department of Energy. Warm weather readers, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
Recently BobVila.com has received a steady stream of requests for information on Solar Photovoltaic Shingles that can be put in line with standard roofing materials. In fact Home Again, working with PATH (Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing), actually featured this technology in a project back in 2000. In Show #1005 Bob visited Global Solar in Tucson, Arizona. Follow this link to learn more about Bob's visit to their solar facility. You can then watch the installing solar shingles and factory tour. The shingles were distributed by United Solar Systems in Troy, MI. They have lots of information on solar shingles on their site. The cells were manufactured by Global Solar in Arizona. Visit their site for additional information on how photovoltaic film is produced.
Have you used photovoltaic shingles? Was it a success? Comment below:
Fighting global warming may be as easy as painting flat roofs white. According to Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, a white roof reflects solar heat back into space and could reduce electrical usage for air conditioners by 15 percent. Some states, such as California, are already requiring commercial buildings to have white roofs. This would also reduce the "heat island" effect found in many cities since roofs account for one-quarter of a city's surface area. Seems like a good idea to me. Thoughts?
Looking at my roof this morning, I thought, "How much snow can it take before it starts doing damage?" This "article from Ask the Builder" goes a long way in answering that question. According to the article, the typical roof is designed to accommodate 20 pounds per horizontal square foot. How much snow that is depends on the type of snow. Wet, heavy snow obviously weighs more than the powdery, dry stuff, and ice weighs the most of all. As a general rule, if your roof has over a foot of wet, heavy snow then you are pushing the limit of your roof. Ice is about three times as heavy as wet snow, so only four inches of ice on your roof is trouble. Steep roofs can be cleared by homeowners using a snow roof rake. If you are unable to clear the snow from your roof safely by yourself, call a professional and make sure that pro has Workman's Compensation and liability insurance. You don't want to be on the hook if they injure themselves while working on your home.
