Paint your roofs white?

[bassrique]

For a pitched roof in Vermont, I don't think so, but for flat roofs where the Summer's are hot, this might be a good idea. I don't want to get into the job creation aspect, because that's a whole other can of worms.

Paint Your Roofs White

What's the single best idea to jumpstart job creation?
Look at the tar roofs covering millions of American buildings. They absorb huge amounts of heat when it's hot. And they require more air conditioning to cool the rooms. Mayor Bloomberg started a program to hire and train young people to paint New York's roofs white. A big percentage of the kids have been able to parlay this simple work into higher-skilled training programs or energy-related retrofit jobs. (And, believe it or not, painting the roof white can lower the electricity use by 20 percent on a hot day!)

Every black roof in New York should be white; every roof in Chicago should be white; every roof in Little Rock should be white. Every flat tar-surface roof anywhere! In most of these places you could recover the cost of the paint and the labor in a week. It's the quickest, cheapest thing you can do. In the current environment it's been difficult for the mayors to get what is otherwise a piddling amount of money to do it everywhere. Yet lowering the utility bill in every apartment house 10 to 20 percent frees cash that can be spent to increase economic growth.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...-white/241784/

[()smoke()]

reflective roofs make a tremendous reduction on solar heat gain...vermont, i'm not familiar with the climate, but the pitched roofs there could likely benefit more than the flat ones since the further from the equator, the higher the angle of incidence of the sun

[hover]

this is racist! whut?

(I'm totally kidding...don't hurt me)

[Solarmist]

What happens in the winter when you want to retain heat?

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by Solarmist

What happens in the winter when you want to retain heat?

Paint it back to black.

[boing]

Typical political posturing in the guise of being "green". Solar powered kegerator is the answer.

[DeathFromBelow]

When the alien invaders come to wipe us out, a white roof will be a very visible target.

I vote no.

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by boing

Typical political posturing in the guise of being "green". Solar powered kegerator is the answer.

Before i google, what is that?

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by Solarmist

What happens in the winter when you want to retain heat?

Covered with snow.

[UnsungZeros]

Originally Posted by Solarmist

What happens in the winter when you want to retain heat?

In Florida where OP is from, this is not a problem. For you northerners, I think the snow on your roof and the gray skies make it sort of a moot point.

[fdeck]

In the northern states, most houses expend more energy heating than cooling. During the recent heat wave, a lot of people in my neighborhood turned the AC on for the first time in years.

When I lived in Texas, AFAIK most commercial and industrial buildings had white roofs.

[DigMe]

Originally Posted by Solarmist

What happens in the winter when you want to retain heat?

I really, really hope that this question was in jest.

bc

[duff beer]

" In most of these places you could recover the cost of the paint and the labor in a week."

That's a load of bull.

"Yet lowering the utility bill in every apartment house 10 to 20 percent frees cash that can be spent to increase economic growth."

So, every single apartment on every single floor (30 stories??) will save 10 - 20 percent from a white roof, even though it only covers the top floor? That's even more bull. Painting a roof white in hot climates may be a good idea, but anyone who throws out ridiculous numbers like that has absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

[tekdiver500ft]

Actually, it has been proven that a white roof makes little difference in internal temps of the house. Even the attic internal temps only vary a couple of degrees. OTOH, a black roof makes a huge difference in the winter, as it will help prevent snow build up on your roof, and the cost difference of heating a house with a black roof v. one with a white roof more than makes up the cost difference of cooling same house in the summer. Of course, it depends on your overall climate. If you live somewhere with hot summers and little winter, then a white roof helps somewhat (and in that case, somewhat is enough). If you live in a northern clime, then you really want a black roof.

[Webtroll]

Originally Posted by bassrique

Before i google, what is that?

fridge for a keg, yarr

[DigMe]

Tekdiver,

Just for clarity's sake they are talking about office buildings I believe, not houses. Houses with composite shingles have a layer of UV-protective grains anyway. Not quite the same but it does what it does.

bc

[WalterBush]

'Round here, heat reflected from reflective-painted roofs will fry the electronics in AC units and decay exposed electrical even faster than the sun already does. Plus, the heat turns non-gravelled tar patches and such to goo.

It may work well in some places, but really I just don't think it's a well-thought out idea.

[bassrique]

Did anyone click on the link?

[WalterBush]

Originally Posted by bassrique

Did anyone click on the link?

Yes.

[hover]

Originally Posted by bassrique

Did anyone click on the link?

Sure did. It just expands, briefly, upon what you quoted. What did I miss?
My answer? While the youth may parlay this into other good things / job ventures / skill sets, what's gonna happen if just one of them falls off said roof while painting them?

Make the tar white (or a more pleasing, less stark lighter color) to begin with.