If you are in the market for a cool roof to save you money in energy bills and to do your part in helping the environment, there are many options out there for you.  Here are just a few products that are likely to grant you the best energy savings possible, while offering the greatest protection for your home or building.    

Flat Roofs
If you own a flat roof, you are provided with convenient energy saving resources.  Flat roofing membranes, unlike tar and gravel roofs, are reflective and are designed to save you energy and money.  A flat roof membrane's high reflectivity will help to reduce the amount of energy required to cool a building and keep it cool throughout the hottest points of the year.  This decreased amount of energy consumption causes a lower amount of pollution to be generated back into the atmosphere and directly contributes to a cooler and cleaner environment, all while you save a little money.  Some roofing membranes that are energy efficient include:

• TPO
• EPDM
• TOPCOAT

TPO is an extremely relfective roofing membrane.  Versico's TPO membranes carry the Energy Star rating, and succeeded in exceeding the guidelines to meet that rating.  TPO is solar reflective and has a thermal emmitance level of .8 to .9, depending on the color.  Versico's TPO is also listed as a CRRC (Cool Roof Rating Council) certified product.  This TPO is also 100% recyclable, as well as made from safe materials that do not harm the environment.  If you are looking for a roof that will naturally cut down your energy bill, and also succeed in helping the environment, TPO is for you. 
 
EPDM is a truly sustainable product.  It is diverse enough to fit the needs of virtually all of the different climates and building structures.  For example, if a membrane is not thick enough in a cold climate zone, it will almost immediately result in higher energy output and costs for the property owner.  However, EPDM is able to work with different climates to create an energy efficient roof for you an any location.  Though EPDM lacks the reflectivity of TPO, it makes up for it in thermal performance.  In fact, a recent study performed by the Department of Energy and the EPDM Roofing Association showed that ballast and paver systems (such as EPDM roofing) can save as much energy as a reflective or "cool" roofs.   

If you are looking for a way to push your roof over the top in energy savings, TOPCOAT is for you.  It is a roofing membrane designed to be sprayed over current roofs, whether it is a single-ply membrane or a metal roof.  It holds the Energy Star rating for its solar reflectivity.  It has the similar effect of TPO: it decreases the overall building temperature through it's solar reflectivity and thermal emmitance.  In fact, TOPCOAT can save you up to 50% of your roof's original cost through energy savings.  It also protects seams and joints from wide temperature changes that can negatively effect roofing performance.   

Pitched Roofs
Even pitched roofs are following the global trend of energy efficient building products.  Since most pitched roofs are residential, they have the potential to save your family from spending money on unneccessary energy bills, while still helping your house look good.  They also qualify for a tax credit of up to $1500.  Two examples of these cool shingles are:

• GAF's Timberline Cool Series
• CertainTeed's Landmark Solaris

GAF Timberline has introduced the Cool Series shingle in hopes of reducing attic temperatures, and thus reducing energy costs and usage.  They are designed with a greater reflectance than tradtional shingles that helps to minimize the amount of heat leaking from your roof into your home.  This shingle saves it's residents an average of 7-15% of total cooling costs each year.  In warmer climates, cooling cost savings may be greater throughout the entire year.  These shingles are based off of the design of the #1 archetectural shingle in America, giving your home the beautiful look you want.  

Certainteed Roofing has also come out with a 'cool' shingle: Landmark Solaris.  This shingle contains advanced color granules that reflect the sun.  This succeeds in reducing the overall roof temperature by up to 20% in the summer, saving you money and energy.  Landmark Solaris is rated by the Cool Roof Rating Council, qualifies for credits and points in LEED, NAHB, and other green programs, and meets the ENERGY STAR standards for solar reflectance and thermal emission.  However, perhaps the best feature of this shingle is it's beauty.  It doesn't look like a cool shingle, but rather it is a beautiful architectural shingle that would look great on any home.   

Learn more about our products, or for a free estimate, contact Brady Roofing.

There are four main reasons that attic ventilation is important and can save you money:

1. The first is energy savings.  During warm summers, your attic could actually be heating your house, resulting in high, unnecessary energy costs coming out of your pocket.   
2. The second reason is the effect poor attic ventilation has on your roof's performance.  Under vented attics get very hot in most summer climates and can bake the shingle from the inside out.  
3. The third reason for installing the correct number and placement of vents is so moisture doesn’t get sucked in through some of the vents.  
4. The fourth reason is to reduce the probability of moisture build up in the attic from condensation.

The other day, I was inspecting a roof that had reported a leak.  While looking in their attic, I found an actual blanket of snow covering the floor of the attic.  This was the result of the attic being over ventilated at the ridge.  Because there were too many turtle vents on the roof, the attic actually started to intake air, and moisture along with it.  Snow was being pulled into their home during storms, causing obvious issues with moisture content.  This is the first time I had ever seen anything like this.  The problem could have easily been avoided if the roofing contractor had been more educated about attic ventilation principles.

Under ventilating your attic can be just as dangerous, and is much more common.  If your attic does not allow air flow, your attic would stay unnaturally warm throughout the winter.  This could cause snow on your roof to melt off and then refreeze in your gutters and at your eaves, which may force water to freeze up under your actual shingles.  In the summer, your attic could reach temperatures above 160 degrees, heating your home as you are trying to cool it.  The overwhelming heat of your attic could be prematurely aging your shingles or 'frying' them from the inside out.  Not only this, but if your attic gets hot enough, you could even warp the framing on your home.  

Proper ventilation is simple to enforce.  The biggest mistake I have seen homeowners make is to build a roof with proper ventilation and then install insulation covering the soffits (the area adjacent to the eaves where the air enters the attic through the soffit vents).  Another similar mistake is storing items that block the soffits.  This makes the ventilation system worthless.  Instead, be sure to install insulation clear of this area and store your items away from the vents to allow proper air flow.  

By far, the best way to ventilate your attic is to use soffit vents at the eaves and ridge vents.  These vents are installed by your roofing contractor.  Soffit vents are installed on the bottom of the overhanging area of your roof, or the eave.  These should be used to intake air, as they will not intake moisture along with it.  Your outtake vents should be your ridge vents at the peak or highest points of your roof.  These will help to cool your attic, and as they are covered with shingles, they will also avoid the intake of moisture.  This system will keep the air in your attic moving and flowing, maintaining the health of your home.  

How can you tell if you have proper ventilation in your attic?  One way to monitor this is by keeping track of the temperature in your attic.  An ideal temperature in the summer would be less than 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature.  It is ideal to have the winter temperature the same inside as outside the attic, as to avoid ice dams.  The winter temperature is probably the most important to monitor in terms of up keeping your home and roof. 

Another way to measure ventilation is by a floor space to ridge ratio.  There should be 1 square foot of ventilation along your ridge for every 300 square feet of floor space in your attic.  For example, if you have 1200 square feet in your attic, you should have 4 square feet of ventilation along your ridge.  

Following these tips and precautions should save you money on your energy bill and in unnecessary repairs to your home.  Brady Roofing is very knowledgeable about attic ventilation and would be an asset to your home.  If you are interested in getting a free estimate, contact Brady Roofing here.