If you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and you own your home, this Guide to the Best Roof Color for Hot Climates is a must-read. Despite insulation and ventilation, choosing the best roof color for hot climates is still important.

That’s especially true for the Dallas area, where the 10-year average high temperature for August is 98°F and the overall average high temperature in August is 96.1°F. Summers get hot in this area.

As much as you might like the look of a black roof, if you live in Dallas, that is not the best roof color for hot climates.  The hotter a shingle gets, the more it expands. The thermal expansion and contraction on the roof materials can impact the lifespan of your roof because it weakens it over time.

Shingles can crack, warp and fail long before their time due to this thermal expansion and contraction. And unfortunately for those of who love the look of a dark roof, a standard black shingle will heat up more than a lighter colored shingle.

Think of the difference between walking on light-colored concrete vs blacktop with your bare feet in the summer. Walking on a blacktop driveway when the sun has heated it up is nearly impossible. Dark colors simply absorb more light and infrared radiation. Lighter colors reflect it.

These days, though, the best roof color for a hot climate is more than just whether a roof can reflect the sun’s rays back out or not. Roofing technology has improved significantly in recent years. So, if you have your heart set on a dark roof, keep reading.

Best Roof Color for Hot Climates

Asphalt shingles in light colors such as cream, beige or light grey work well for reflecting the light and lessening the UV aging effects of the material. Lighter-colored roofs can reflect approximately 70% of the sunlight and white shingles can reflect up to 90% of it. Meanwhile black roofs typically reflect only about 5-15%.

The indicator of how well a roof can reflect sunlight is its Solar Reflectance Index. A white or off-white roof can be up to 50°F cooler than a black roof in the summer.

These days, you can purchase premium shingles that are both dark and reflective. They are made with a special formula to maintain reflectivity even if the shingles are as dark as charcoal. So, if you are really interested in a dark roof, but you don’t want to suffer the solar consequences of a dark roof, a premium shingle designed to maintain reflectivity could be right for you.

This special design is so impressive that the roof coatings can even make dark shingles perform better than standard (non-reflective) light shingles.

Do Light Colored Roofs Keep the Home Cooler?

Even if your home’s attic is properly ventilated and the home has superior insulation, the heat that builds up beneath the roof from dark shingles that has not been treated for reflectivity is impactful.

The heat can deteriorate insulation and lead to higher energy costs because the air conditioning has to work harder to cool the home. A light-colored roof can reduce cooling energy use by around 10–20%, depending on home insulation and ventilation. And as the cost of electricity continues to rise, you know as well as we do that we’re not talking about pennies here.

The average electric bill in Dallas is a whopping $222 per month. So very generally speaking, if you have a dark roof, and it’s time for a roof replacement, if you switched to a light roof (or a premium dark roof with a reflective design), you could save over $40 a month in energy costs.

Best Metal Roof Color for Hot Climate

Just like with shingled roofs, the best metal roof color for hot climates like ours is also going to be white and off-white. Of course, you could choose a light blue or a pale green metal roof and still see a significant reduction in the roof’s temperature and enjoy significantly cooler internal temperatures in your home.

Metal roofs can also come with advanced reflective properties and heat-resistant finishes, just like shingles. Choosing this premium metal roofing makes a dark metal roof more reasonable in a hotter climate. We can help you choose the best metal roof color for a hot climate that’s built for performance and long-term energy efficiency.

Are You in the Market for a New Roof?

Whether you would like an asphalt shingled roof installed on your home or a new metal roof, the best way to determine if the material can provide protection from the sun’s heat in the summer is to check out its ENERGY STAR rating or the Cool Roof Rating Council.

We can also meet with you for a free consultation and explain to you which roofing products can help keep your roof cool in the summer. Contact New View Roofing today so that we can provide you with a free roof inspection and a free quote.