Are dark roofs less energy efficient? (Dallas: houses, neighborhood, roofing)

[Aggielina]

We are about to replace our roof. The color of our current roof is weathered wood, which looks fine, but our roofer thinks a black or charcoal colored shingle would look sharp with our brick. At first I said no way, but after driving around a little and checking out the roofs on other natural brick houses, I'm starting to think he might be right. It looks more modern. The roofer also said that the darker color will have no effect on the heating or cooling of the inside of the house. Does anyone have actual experience or knowledge about this? Not just an assumption that OF COURSE, a dark color will make the house warmer.

I have one friend who says she replaced her roof with a black one and it looks great and hasn't affected her utility bills at all. So there's that...

[elnina]

Yes, and the material used, and preparation is important too.
https://www.getsci.net/reflective-ro...-energy-costs/

I changed mine to white, plus insulation and ridge roof and noticed a big difference. It was very important to me because I have vaulted ceilings, so there is no attic insulation.

In hot climate it's important. A dark roof won’t heat your house if you live in a frigid area.

https://dfwroofingoptions.com/is-a-b...of-a-bad-idea/

[ThomasCrown]

The previous owners of our home changed the color to a dark charcoal during the last big hailstorm a few years ago. The previous listing pics showed the roof as a lighter gray, and it was the same color as most of the other homes on the street.



The darker color really pops... it makes all the other homes look like they have older faded roofs. I can't speak to whether the color change led to an increase in attic heat, our electric bill is in line with everyone else around here, but the temps in the attic don't seem to be significantly higher than what we had in our old home with a lighter gray shingle roof, if at all. Granted, this is comparing two different homes with different designs, number of roof vents, etc, so take that for what it's worth. But given how good our roof looks vs our neighbors, I'd say go for it.

[Rakin]

Yes.

In the olden days prior to the 80's we used the more silver reflective roofs. Dark roof shingles became popular when Wood Shingle roofs were being replaced / outlawed because they matched the color and texture. Even many HOA's require the dark shingles.

We would be smart IMO to go back to the old roofs that reflect the heat better.

But I'm not an expert.

[rabbit33]

Yes, the white (or off-grey) shingles are a far better choice if you have no restrictions on roof materials (thank goodness I don't have HOA). if you look at old barns roofed in asphalt/"composition" they're almost always of white color; same with old farmhouses.

Even if you have sufficient attic ventilation and sufficient insulation that you don't see the effect in utility bills, the roof will last longer if it doesn't get so hot. Like I say, the original popular color for composition roofs (1930s, maybe?) was white. When I was a boy, most of the houses in our neighborhood still had wood shingles but if they had been re-roofed it was invariably white. It wasn't till the 1970s or so that I ever saw a non-white asphalt shingle roof.

[TheOverdog]

It really depends on the amount of insulation in the attic, though in Texas in general, dark colored roofs are not a good choice. If you have enough trees and more heating days than cooling days, they are an excellent choice.

[rabbit33]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

It really depends on the amount of insulation in the attic, though in Texas in general, dark colored roofs are not a good choice. If you have enough trees and more heating days than cooling days, they are an excellent choice.

So where is this place in Texas (or in DFW since it's in the Dallas forum) that has more heating days than cooling days? Inquiring minds want to know.

And as I pointed out, even if you have such great attic ventilation and insulation that it doesn't show up in utility bills (which are a pretty blunt instrument of assessment), a light colored roof will last longer because it doesn't get nearly as hot.