Would painting a metal roof white bring down cooling costs?

Question

We are looking at a house that is pretty great btu the only thing that makes us wonder is that it has a silver metal roof. Sure it sounds pretty in the rain, but wont it make the house really hot in the summer (It is in Birmingham, Alabama)?

My hubby suggested we could paint it white. Does that even help?

Answer 1

You will have ti keep the roof painted to maintain it. White will cut your cooling costs but raise your heating costs during the winter. You can't win. I suppose you could paint twice a year and alternate colors but the cost would be greater than the utility bills. Sigh.

Answer 2

The silver roofing was designed with that in mind.  The silver roofing will reflect most of the solar energy making contact with it.  Therefore, it will reduce the amount of heat that makes it into your house.

Answer 3

Yes, it reflects the suns rays. There is a white roofing coat made especially for this purpose at Home Depot.

Answer 4

I think so but I would call your Local 4-H or City Hall and Housing Department. There are other factors to bring down the electricity costs like double insulated windows and other types of insulation. It is always hot down south and you need to consider all the factors to keep your house cool and to lower your electricity bill. I was born and raised down south so I know we all deal with the long hot summers. Also, you could ask your new neighbors about their utility bills too. DEM

Answer 5

I put a galvanized steel roof on my home and it works great as is.  Not only was it cheaper than asphalt shingles, it went up fast and should last 100 years.

If one looked at past hurricane damage, metal roof houses had their roofs on, shingles were in the next county.  Here in Michigan ice dams are the main issue, but not on my house.  No cracks or seams from gutter to ridge.

Answer 6

Design brings down cooling costs

check Permaculture ,

One can make houses that cool them selves down or heat up just by design .

Metal color already reflects the heat ,only if you paint them black will it be hotter.

Paint in the sun on a hot tin roof ,does not last very long ,you will be lucky if it is more than a year,unless you use maybe expensive plastic paints ,but why bother

Have a hole on the bottom of a shady wall ,where the colder air enters ,and another hole in the highest part of the house ,

also have air vents between the rooms.as high as possible so that no hot air sits in a pocket on top.

The resulting draft of the hot rising air escaping on top pulling the colder air behind it ,will cool down the house

some more ideas on design in this page http://byderule.multiply.com/journal/ite...

Answer 7

Yes it will reflect the light.

Answer 8

First my husband is an aircraft mechanic (he currently works on commercial wind turbines).  One of the things they learn about in aircraft mechanic school is how different paints effect the aircraft, and how hot they make the aircraft.

Silver ranks right at the top for being one of the very worst....right under black paint.  I too thought silver would be very reflective....not so.  It really absorbs the heat.

So yes, it WILL make the house hotter.  

White is the absolute best for reflecting the sun back up, and NOT absorbing the heat.  If your husband thinks the roof can be painted white (get a professional opinion, and price quot) that would be a very good idea.

Also you say the "rain sounds pretty."  I have a white metal roof.  Because we have so much insulation we virtually cannot hear the rain.  We can hear hail, but not rain.  If you can hear the rain, the house needs more insulation.  Insulation is not just for cold climates....it's also for hot climates.  Insulation will help you retain the cool in your house, as well as keeping the heat out.

I live in the high mountain desert.  Winters here are brutal, and EXTREMELY cold.  A white metal roof is a bit of a catch .22.

We had so much snow this year, the weight of the snow on roofs was becoming an issue.  Our neighbors with black, brown, grey, green, or any color other than white, would get some melt off during the days when it got above freezing.  We had zero melt.  We've had about a week of 40 degree days....all of our neighbors have no snow on their roofs.  We still have about to feet of snow.  

White roofs really work.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 9

I think silver would be more reflective and thus cooler than white since it will act more like a mirror. If you fitted solar heat collectors for hot water you'd get a load of free hot water too!