What Roof Color Is Best?

Aside from esthetic reasons, choosing a roof color is an important decision because it can affect the price of your property if/when you choose to sell, as well as have a significant impact on your energy bills.

Choosing a Roof Color for a Home
For residential areas, there are really four factors to consider when selecting a roof color: style of home, house color, the surrounding community, and local climate.

The style of your home often strongly predetermines the color of the roof you should select. For example, here in the Southwest, there are plenty of Spanish style homes. A terracotta tile roof is very much a part of the style. In mountain country, where cabins and homes are designed to blend into the beauty of the surroundings, brown or green metal roofing roofing is not only stylish, but sheds the heavy snow load during the winter months.

The color you choose to paint the main part of your house can also play a part in selecting a roof color. A dark slate roof may contrast well with a white house. Then again, you may want to select a lighter roof material so the house and roof blend in well together. One way or the other, the color you select for you roof should complement the look of your home.

Naturally, you’ll want to take a look at the community you live in and select a roof color that complements the rest of the neighborhood. The last thing you need is neighbors angry with you because you are bringing prices down in the neighborhood. In addition, many residential neighborhoods and community housing associations have strict guidelines as to what types of materials (and colors) can be used on homes in the area, so be sure to check before making a roofing choice.

Choosing a Roof Color for a Commercial/Industrial Building
Commercial and industrial buildings tend to have flat or low slope roofs to span the large spaces beneath, although all types of roofing materials are possible depending style of the building. However, for flat or low slope roofs the preferred roofing materials tend to be Built Up Roofing (BUR), foam, Single-Ply, Modified Bitumen etc. While most low slope roofs are not easily visible from the ground, all of these choices have the option to coat the roof with a light color or reflective surface. By selecting a coating that reflects heat, for instance something with aluminum flakes in it, roofs can be kept cooler during the heat of summer (especially here in the southwest) and significantly help to reduce energy costs.

For Residential and Commercial Roofing
Whether you are selecting roofing material for a home or business, consider the climate you live in. Darker colors absorb heat, so in a cool climate, a dark roof may be a smart option. In a warm climate like the desert southwest, lighter colored roofs are a smart choice. According to tests done by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a white roof on a sunny day (55 degrees outside) reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit, while black roof surpassed 140 degrees. Studies show that choosing a white roof can save between 15 – 30% of cooling costs in the summer months here in the southwest.