Why don't houses have white roofs ?

Question

White has been proven to radiate more heat into space and reduce the effects of global warming. As the polar icecaps melt the rate of global warming increases as this "white" layer no longer reflects the suns rays.

With this is mind, why are houses built with grey/black roofs. If we started to build houses with white roofs it would deflect the suns rays and help with global warming

Answer 1

there are a lot of white roofs in some parts of California ( i am sure there are more elsewhere.)

the reason people don't put white roofs are:

it is cheaper to make earth colors. most roofs are made from rubber tar and stones.

white will show dirt

it is an agreement that roofs suppose to be in a certain color in a certain places. What the wife next door will say...

people do not care to spend money on air condition and heating.

but white roofs with insulation are far better then the regular Brown one.

Answer 2

and also bring down any aircraft that happen to pass overhead - its the dazzle effect

Answer 3

the real reason is white is a light color so it doesn't absorb radiation from the sun but reflects it

colors like black which are dark absorb the light so you house stays warm!

Answer 4

because the white roof goes Derty very soon and Other reson may be that

People are worried from changes so they don't what change the roof colour from black to white

Answer 5

they usually only use white roofs in hot countries to try and keep the houses cooler, also if they were white bird p**p, moss, grime etc would show up easily and it would simply not look attractive.

Answer 6

HOW RIGHT YOU ARE. ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO I PAINTED ALL MY ROOFS WHITE FIRE RETARDANT PAINT AND IT MADE MY ATTICS MUCH COOLER.

Answer 7

If you live in an area with cool to cold climate you will probably create more green house gases heating your home because the sun is no longer doing it for you if you put on a reflecting roof.

However if you live in a hot place then the idea of a thermally reflecting roof is a very good idea. So good in fact that a type of titanium pain has been developed which reduced the heat load picked up by the roof by as much as 80%. Paint this on your roof and recover the cost of the paint in a very short time from reduced air con bills. So not such a silly idea and it is already happening, but it makes a lot more sense in hot places than cold ones. There you will do most good by having a very heat absorbing roof to reduce heating requirements. In places with hot summers and cold winters (What silly places to live!) you could try using diciduous shade trees over your house, provide summer shade and in winter no leaves!

Answer 8

white has not been proven to radiate heat, thats just a ridiculous myth everyone believes... they are dark colours cos it would cost loads colouring building materials a ridiculous colour that shows dirt.

Answer 9

First off - Where do you get the idea that the polar ice caps are actually still melting? - I can't find a single report about how Antarctica fared over the 2007-2008 Summer season down there. And it's now fall going on winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Up in the Northern Hemisphere we are only starting to warm up and here in Minnesota we had blasts of cold arctic air hit the state in late April. Since we also got major snow storms during these cold blasts of air, I find it extremely hard to believe that the Arctic started melting yet this year.

Now as  for your question I wonder if it has anything to do with tar being black and the sand they use to coat the surface of the shingles wasn't white. I'm pretty sure they are starting to manufacture lighter shingles, because I remember picking shingles for a house I used to live in and we had a multitude of colors to choose from. I also believe they used darker shingles on houses in the North to optomize heat collection in the winter.

Down in the southern states they use red tiles, which I thought was a way to blend into the land the houses were being built on.

Answer 10

It's not just roof tops that are an issue here, it's hardscape in general.  Dark roads and parking lots, for example.

You are absolutely right in that builders and city planners should take such concepts into consideration when building a house and installing or replacing materials.

Answer 11

It would get dirty too quickly and would cost a lot more than standard roof tiles. I don't know about you, but I don't want to deflect the sun. We don't see enough of it as it is.

*Edit*

Global warming? What global warming? Is that like the acid rain we were supposed to be getting?

Answer 12

take a look at google earth and you will soon see that there are not enough houses showing up to make the slightest difference. I know that there are lots of us here on the planet but i am afraid that we dont use up much area for our living space. if it were a real prospect then deserts would also be regarded as a good thing as they are very light coloured and will radiate a lot of heat. the truth is that this is not the case. raiforrests radiate hardly anything back into space but of course they are the lungs of the world and absorb carbon whilst giving off oxygen. i think you are barking up the wrong tree here. but at least you give a 5hit!