Your roof is a major component of your home's total energy efficiency, and there are several ways to make it work better without having to get an entirely new roof. Making sure your ventilation and insulation are in good shape, as well as adding optional special coatings, can help make a noticeable difference.
Improve Ventilation
Adequate roof ventilation is important for several reasons. Not only is it important for energy efficiency, but it's necessary to keep your roof safe and undamaged.
Primarily, ventilation lets air move through your roof and attic area so hot or cold air doesn't build up. During summer, this lets hot air escape when the weather starts to cool at night, and the same in reverse during colder months. For example, if hot air can't escape your house during summer, your air conditioner will have to work longer to keep your house cool.
Ventilation can also help prevent problems like ice dams, which can quickly start to cause water damage if left unaddressed.
Your roof's ventilation can usually be fixed without needing a replacement, so if you're concerned this may be an issue, or if you have an older roof with ventilation that hasn't been looked at in some time, call for an inspection to assess your situation.
Add a Coating
Another option is to add a special reflective coating to your roof. This can be done regardless of what type of roofing material you use, and its purpose is to reflect more heat away from your home. This makes it a good method of adding to your roof's efficiency without fundamentally changing any part of it.
These coatings can be clear or you can choose a color, which adds to their customization options, and this gives you the option to make your roof lighter, which can also improve heat reflection.
Because of the work this entails, it helps to be certain that your roof is in good shape and won't likely need repairs or replacing in the near future.
Insulate or Reinsulate
Insulation serves multiple purposes, much like ventilation. It helps keep your home's temperature more stable by inhibiting the transfer of heat and cold, which works well for your air conditioner and furnace, and it also serves to keep your roof safer from damage. Areas of your roof that are lacking in insulation, or have faulty or failing insulation, are more susceptible to issues like ice dams.
Proper insulation and ventilation work well together, and it's important to have both. Any insulation that is starting to fall apart or that has been damaged by water should be replaced immediately, both to ensure a boost to your energy efficiency and to catch, fix, and prevent any possible weather damage. Check out a place like Twin Cities Contracting Services for more information.
Once you watched someone put a roof on a home, you have a much deeper understanding of what's involved in this sort of work. Roofing is not easy. There's a big mental component since the roofers need to decide how how many shingles to use, how to best lay them out, and so forth. Then, there's the physical aspect of roofing. Lugging packages of shingles onto the roof is not easy, and nailing them down take a lot of work, too. With that in mind, we welcome you to read more about roofing on this blog. Let the articles inform your opinion of the profession.