How a New Roof Could Help with Those Energy Bills

If you've lived on your property for some time and have not paid any attention to your roof during those years, it may be time to upgrade or replace it. While you may be sitting on the fence and wondering how long you can leave it, you should also consider how much you're paying for energy, especially in these very expensive and challenging economic times. Could replacing your roof make a significant dent in your monthly electricity bills and improve your home insulation at the same time?

Technology and Savings

When you consider how far technology has advanced within the roofing industry, you should immediately realise that it's time to act. After all, it's likely that your roof was built with materials and technology that may have been current at the time but which are now significantly out of date.

Reflective Materials

Roofing materials today are made with materials that are designed to reflect solar energy as much as possible. Without these materials, the shingles or tiles that you have in place are likely to absorb this heat and transfer it down into your home.

Choosing Colour

Your roof may also be covered with tiles or shingles that are of a darker colour. This is the worst-case scenario in hotter parts of the country, as they'll automatically absorb all that heat on a sunny day, and it will inevitably spread into your attic. In fact, this can be such a problem that some cities around the country may actually dictate the colour of new roofing materials in an attempt to avoid excess energy usage.

Improving Ventilation

Did the contractors pay proper attention to ventilation when your roof was first installed? This is not always the case, and if you do not have adequate ventilation in place, rising air within your home may become trapped in the attic. This will lead to a gradual buildup of heat, which will certainly put a strain on your HVAC system. Remember, the more you spend on air-conditioning, the higher the size of your carbon footprint as well.

Choosing Materials

When you talk with roofing contractors, they'll introduce you to the various material options available today. Each material has different energy-efficient properties, and you need to select the right approach based on your objectives. In fact, you may need to make a complete change from your current configuration and move away from something like standard shingles to clay tiles instead.

What to Do Next

Start the ball rolling by talking with an experienced roofing contractor. They'll tell you what's involved and give you a competitive estimate.

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