Roof - Reflective and/or Solar Coating Recommendations (roofing, Home Depot, AC)

[jhlcomp]

I am looking for a reflective coating to put on our roof. In sunbelt areas such as ours (Florida) heat can become an issue. The darker the roof, the less heat/light will bounce off. White will reflect the sun and as I understand it, can reduce energy costs by quite a bit.

Does anyone have experience with this? I appreciate your help. Thank you.

[harry chickpea]

Did that to my concrete tile roof in Margate. Used the elastomeric Kool-seal stuff commonly used on mobile homes. It helped a little, but I had much greater success with putting a lawn sprinkler on the roof and using a timer to have it come on four times a day. That cooled the mass of the concrete so that it wasn't radiating stored heat downward in the evening. Prior to that, the AC would run constantly from about 4 PM to 9 PM, and it would still feel warm inside.

When the roof needed replacement, I went with white shingles. IMO the tiles were a waste of money and energy, and not the safe roofing that they were cracked up to be. Saw that after Andrew.

In any event, you'll save far more energy dollars by improving the insulation in your ceiling than fooling with painting the roof. You probably won't be allowed to put a sprinkler on the roof now, and in Weston you may not be allowed to paint your roof.

[jhlcomp]

Thanks harry - fortunately I am on the Bonaventure side of Weston where the restrictions are a bit lighter.

I read a slew of studies over the weekend and each one proported great energy savings, but I wanted to get someone's first hand experience with this coating/paint. I think you are right that insulation will have a better effect. I also think an electric vent in the attic should also help. Let's see. That sprinkler idea is terrific except during a drought. :-)

[harry chickpea]

"I also think an electric vent in the attic should also help. "

Electric is a wash, when you factor in power costs. Get a couple of standard roof turbines for less than $50 each and you don't have to worry about power costs, or running wire, etc..

[stonny9]

I know this post is a few years old but thought I would add to it. I am in Pembroke Pines, Fl aka South Fl. I painted my flat roof a few months ago during the Fl winter with Lanco 15yr Reflective Roof Coating from Home Depot. I only did one coat but the temperature difference was 25 deg on a cool day after half of the roof was painted. I kinda slopped it on with a roller so the coating isnt even but it would be better with a couple coats. To get the full warranty on the product the prep is kinda involved and wasnt worth it to me.

It is hard to judge the potential energy savings cause a new a/c was put in 5 months before the roof was painted.

I also painted 3 of my rental houses with the cheapest Lanco paint and it looks similiar. Main reason for the cheaper paint was to extend the aging roofs a few more years at a very cheap price.

[CyFree]

Consider installing a radiant barrier in the attic, instead of roof coating.

Exhaust fans in the attic will not help save energy at all. They need energy to run, and as they blow hot hair out of the attic, the new replenishment air will be sucked from the living area. That means that the air that you are paying to condition and cool your living space will be cooling your attic, thus making the A/C unit work hard.

If you are serious about making your home more comfortable and cool, while saving energy, the best thing you can do before you spend any money, is to call in an energy conservation expert and have a complete home energy audit performed. An audit will help you understand how your home consumes and wastes energy, and what are the improvements that will give you the more savings per dollar invested.

Things like better attic insulation, radiant barrier and air sealing can help you save a lot of money, and the time to do it is now. There is a Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit that can be claimed up to December 2011 and several local incentive programs for energy efficiency in Florida.

[wit-nit]

Most roof reflective coatings wash off within a couple of good rains and leaves streaks like tomorrow. And in our area we see these washed down streaked roofs all over the place.