In summer, Brisbane roof temperatures can reach up to 70 degrees Celsius, and the radiant heat of a roof can have a significant impact on the overall temperature of a house.
It makes sense then that effective roof cooling offers numerous benefits in summer to cool your house, including:
- It makes your house more comfortable if you don’t have air-conditioning
- It can reduce your air-conditioning costs, and extend the life of your air-conditioner
- It can help make insulation work more effectively by reducing the heat load in a roof space
We’ve put together some tips to help you make your roof cooler.
4 Ways Your Roof Can Help Cool Your House
1. Choose a Light Colour Roof
Compared to a dark roof, light-coloured roofs could reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 4%. So if you are considering purchasing a new roof, select light coloured roofing materials. Colorbond Steel has a range of beautiful light coloured classic and contemporary options, and also offers a tailored cooling option, Colorbond Cool Max. View the range of Colorbond Roof colours.
2. Paint Your Roof
Alternatively, if a new roof is not an option, painting a dark roof with a good quality heat reflective coating such as Dulux Acratex, can be an effective cooling option.
3. Whirly Birds and Roof Cavity Ventilators
Whirly birds installed on a roof use wind power to remove hot air from enclosed rooftop spaces to cool your house. As air is expelled, the whirlybirds draw in cooler outside air from vents in the roof eaves. Choose a quality whirly bird with steel bearings such as the Edmonds Windmaster Whirly Bird which come in a range of 28 colours. The number of whirly Birds that you require will be based solely on your roof size and the reasons why you require the ventilation.
Solar power Roof Cavity Ventilators are also effective in removing heat from roof spaces. The fan motor, driven by a small solar panel, drives the hot air out of your roof.
4. Ceiling Insulation
A very effective long-term investment is installing good quality ceiling insulation, which blocks hot air trapped in your roof from moving down through your ceiling into your house.
There are a number of different insulation types on the market such as Wool, Glass Wool, Polyester and Rock Wool to name a few. They all have their individual advantages and disadvantages and it really comes down to personal preference, budget and desired insulation level known as “R” value.
Always Choose a Quality Roofing Contractor
Always us a quality, fully licensed roofing contractor. Contact Gutter and Roof Repairs for expert advice on how your roof can best to cool your house, or a no-obligation quote to restore or replace your current roof.