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Facts is facts
I once knew a roofer whose daughter set up an experiment with a 100 watt light bulb as a heat source, and tested composition roofing materials from white through black. Here someone has done the experiment with a house.
I had to arm-wrestle my builder into submission to put a gray mixed composition roof on our house. I wanted white (with medium gray stone bricks, black and dark gray trim, reddish mahogany front door) but even my then-spouse wanted something other than white -- or black.
Our 5 ton A/C unit kept both floors comfortable, using a central stairs column as a heat draw (along with a roof vent). We rarely had an electric bill over $100 a month. And that was eight years ago. I have friends paying over $500 right now, and two couples who are in trouble over their utility bills. Both parties work, only one has a child to keep cool.
http://www.antirad.com/rooftest/
This house taught me the different between a tree on the west side, and no tree. THe temp dropped 15-20 degrees in the master bath after the chinaberry tree got high enough to block the sun. (Yes, I know, chinaberries, ugh -- but the ashe to one side is probably big enough now that they can cut down the chinaberry.)
I had to arm-wrestle my builder into submission to put a gray mixed composition roof on our house. I wanted white (with medium gray stone bricks, black and dark gray trim, reddish mahogany front door) but even my then-spouse wanted something other than white -- or black.
Our 5 ton A/C unit kept both floors comfortable, using a central stairs column as a heat draw (along with a roof vent). We rarely had an electric bill over $100 a month. And that was eight years ago. I have friends paying over $500 right now, and two couples who are in trouble over their utility bills. Both parties work, only one has a child to keep cool.
http://www.antirad.com/rooftest/
This house taught me the different between a tree on the west side, and no tree. THe temp dropped 15-20 degrees in the master bath after the chinaberry tree got high enough to block the sun. (Yes, I know, chinaberries, ugh -- but the ashe to one side is probably big enough now that they can cut down the chinaberry.)
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Another thing our city utility recommends -- radiant barriers. You can do it after building, because it goes up into the attic between the studs. We had our handyman do the new shed first, as a test run. That apparently drops the temp 10 degrees right there. Cheaper to do fall-winter, of course -- less demand and the guys don't sweat off ten pounds doing the work.
We're going to do it just over the bedroom side of the house, to see if we can see a difference just through the rest of the hot weather (easily end of October, as you know.)
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This would bring down the temperature in the attic to nearly the temperature outside (in the example, the temperature in the attic was 23° higher than outside, even under the white shingle.)
It can also cut down on mold and mildew problems.
Sweet!
Was buying wall paper for the south Austin house -- and there's a couple of borders of Classy shoes!
We don't know anyone who would seriously contemplate shoe borders, even in the master closet....
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