5 Tips for an Energy-Efficient Roof
Are you losing energy through your roof and attic? If you’ve found that your energy usage keeps going up year by year, you may have an issue with the energy efficiency of your home. Your roof is often the most likely source of these issues; you just need to consider a few things before you start the repairs.
1. Determine Whether Your Roof Is the Main Culprit
Many things can cause a home to lose energy. Whether you feel cold throughout winter or warm throughout the summer, there are some easy ways to tell whether you’re losing energy primarily through your roof.
In the winter, look at your roof compared to your neighbor’s roofs. Does yours have less or more snow? If your snow melts very fast, it means that you’re losing a lot of heat energy through your roof. You will know if your roof has this problem because the lack of snow will be readily noticeable.
In the summer, you can call in a professional to look at your home through a heat gun, which will reveal the colder areas of your home. If your roof looks colder than the surrounding areas, that’s a bad thing, not a good thing. A cold roof means that all of the precious cold air from your AC somehow escapes your home through the roof instead of staying inside where it belongs.
2. Make Sure Your Roof Isn’t Leaking
All the insulation in the world may not help if your attic is drafty. Your roof could possibly have a hole somewhere, which could be a cause of poor energy efficiency. This is going to have to be fixed before you start other renovations.
In fact, you may even need to replace your roof if it’s over 20 years old. Most roofs will have a lifespan of between 15 to 30 years, and towards the tail end of that lifespan, they may simply not be strong enough to resist the heat and the cold.
3. Figure Out Which Type of Insulation You Want
Loose fill or blown-in insulation is usually the option of choice for those who want a fast, affordable fix. But other options can be more effective (even if they’re more expensive), such as foam insulation that expands to fit the space that it’s in.
Insulation is rated by R-value, which is the amount by which the insulation can resist temperature exchange. The hotter and colder the temperature gets in your area, the more you’ll want a high R-value to combat the temperature extremes.
4. Choose the Right Roof
If you’ve realized that your roof simply needs to be replaced, you may want to carefully consider the type of roof you’re interested in. Different types of roof also have different values regarding insulation.
New cool roofs are designed with reflective paint, and ceramic roofs can absorb heat and distribute it through a building. Depending on your area, one roofing option may be significantly more appealing than others.
5. Look for Tax Breaks
Many insulation and roof improvements will have tax breaks or tax deductions associated with them. These change year by year, so you’ll need to check with the Department of Energy. Often, these can offer a substantial rebate for energy-efficient improvements that you make in your home.
Government agencies are trying to encourage homeowners to create more energy-efficient homes, which is why these programs exist. Adding options such as solar panels can lead to further deductions and credits.
Becoming a more energy-efficient home often begins by simply inspecting your roof and finding out whether there may be problems. From there, you can decide on the insulation and roof upgrades your home needs.
Jerry Newman Roofing & Remodeling Inc can help you repair, maintain, or even completely replace your home’s roof for a more energy-efficient future. Call us today.