Home Exterior Paint Color and Energy Efficiency (HOA, how much)

[FloppyRunner]

The short:

How much does the exterior paint color of ones home effect the energy efficiency of it here in the valley?

The long:

The general consensus is that lighter is better here in the valley. Lighter colors reflect more heat rather than absorb it, and since the energy we put into cooling our homes in the summer is much greater than the energy we put into warming our homes in the winter (again, here in the valley; go to Wisconsin and it's a different story).

I'm trying to get a little more quantifiable data though. Did anybody go from a lighter to a darker color, or vice versa, and see a change either in energy or in dollars spent?

Thanks, and cheers!

[allsunny]

Another thing to keep in mind that darker colors will fade and will be more noticeable on parts of the house that gets more sun exposure. Even same wall might retain color near roof where it gets some shade but be more faded at the bottom. So we did go from darker to lighter from HOA available color scheme. Since its hoa colors were not were not drastically different nether were our bills.

[paradiseca]

I don't think there would be much difference. The exception might be walls on the west side of the house heating up in the afternoon as the sun goes down. If you have a flat roof then coat the roof white. If you have a pitched roof then add insulation to the attic. Retractable awnings on the south and west sides of a house would cut down the heater effect on the windows. If you have an older home with aluminum windows the metal can conduct quite a bit of heat. If you are a do it your selfer you can replace aluminum with vinyl pretty cheaply.

[allsunny]

Good point about windows and I would add having tinted
Low- E glass vs regular clear does make a lot of difference.

[AZPam]

We went from a light tan house to a dark brown house about 10 years ago. I can't say that there was any difference. I can say I'm ready for a change and will probably go light again though

[chaparrito]

Roof color makes more difference I suspect.