Your building ’s roofing materials near Ridgewood protect your property from the elements and helps ensure that your business runs smoothly and efficiently. However, have you ever given thought to how your roof could lower your energy bills? If not, then keep reading to learn why your roofing materials can make your commercial building more energy efficient.
Reflecting More Sunlight
It’s not uncommon for people to give little thought to the color or variety of their building’s roof shingles. However, when it comes to cooling your building, this part of your property could be costing you more than you might imagine. Today, some roofs are designed to absorb less heat and reflect more sunlight, and switching to the right type of roof can save you money while benefiting the environment. Just as people wear lighter clothing in summer to stay cool, installing a light-colored roof can help keep your building cool, as well.
Keeping Buildings Cooler
Roofing materials that can make your building more energy efficient are often made of light-colored or high-reflective materials, which give them high solar reflectance. These types of materials will allow your roof to reflect much of the light that a typical roof would absorb. Light that gets absorbed will heat up the building beneath it and lead to increased air conditioning bills during warm weather.
Reducing Utility Bills
During hot weather, a conventional roof represents the hottest part of the building’s exterior, and the sunlight it absorbs can cause it to be as much as 50 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. To counteract the heat coming from above, air conditioning systems must work much harder to keep the building’s interior cool and comfortable. Good insulation can reduce this effect, but it doesn’t eliminate it.
Improving Energy Efficiency
Thermoplastic, or TPO, roofing is UV-resistant and heat reflective, while also providing a water-tight seal and high performance. Also, PVC roofing is low-maintenance, versatile, flexible, and manufactured using UV-resistant polyvinyl chloride. Your commercial roofing contractor can inspect your building and help you determine the best way to improve its energy efficiency with new roofing materials.
