Home & Garden...

There are some energy saving methods that have large renovation implications and time commitments involved - whitening your roof is not one of them. Roof whitening is a mid-cost solution that can cut your home cooling costs by quite a lot.

The Florida Solar Energy Center notes that home owners can expect to save 25-43%n air conditioning costs - and that result came from tests run on poorly insulated homes. One home they tested already had decent roof insulation in place and the savings were still at around 10% when roof whitening was added into the mix.

Some feel that roof whitening costs too much; that good insulation or a radiant barrier might be a better choice to save money, but you also have to think about labor, and the money saved after the application. Real Goods reports that roof, "Coatings cost 30 to 70 cents per square foot of roof surface area." I think that roof whitening is about a mid-level cost - but of course that's going to depend on your budget.

What sort of paint to use:

Using light colored shingles may seem the same, but it's actually not as effective as basic white roofing paint. Aluminum is another light colored material that doesn't fare as well at cutting energy costs. Whitening is the best.

Hy-Tech offers a really nice guide if you're new to roof whitening. They cover what sort of coverage and type of paint you'll need for a sloped roof vs. say an RV.

You can also visit Henry or Behr, although, you won't learn as much. They do sell roof coatings for a decent cost though.

Learn more:

Read more about Florida Solar Energy Center tests on energy saving with roof whitening.

There's also an interesting read on the Influence of whitening on greenhouse microclimate and crop energy partitioning.

Or you can read a debate: Treehugger thinks, or at least posts, that white roofs fight global warming may be an earth helpful solution while Sci Guy argues against that.

I prefer green roofs - especially so far as aesthetics go. There's just something about a white roofs that's not super stylish to me. Although saving money and electricity is always in style, so... what are you gonna do?