Metal Roofs Survive Weather Extremes In Knoxville Tennessee

Whether you are looking to put your property on the market or simply want to improve your family’s comfort while saving on energy bills, replacing your roof is one of the most impactful renovations you can make to upgrade your Knoxville home. There are multiple material options available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, but metal roofing has become increasingly popular in recent years for homeowners. This popularity stems from its superior durability, longevity, safety, minimal maintenance requirements, and wide range of style choices suited for any home.

One of the most attractive benefits of metal roofing is significantly saving on heating and cooling costs throughout the year. Read on to learn more about how a metal roof can help you lower your energy bills, both during the summer and the winter months.

Metal Roofing Keeps You Cool in the Summer

Metal is consistently rated as one of the most energy-efficient roofing materials available today, providing excellent insulation all year round and saving up to 40 percent in energy costs. The reason for this energy savings lies in the combination of the material itself and the finish of the material. Even the most basic, an unpainted metal roof can reflect significantly more solar radiation than a traditional asphalt roof, which absorbs and stores heat on the surface. Light-colored asphalt shingles can only reflect around 22 percent of the sun’s heat, meaning the remaining 78 percent will eventually make its way into your home and force your air conditioning system to work harder to keep you comfortable.

A metal roof reflects UV and infrared light rays from the sun, reducing the surface radiant heat of the roof and allowing for a reduction in cooling costs of 10 percent to 25 percent. Asphalt roofs can reach temperatures over 100 degrees higher than metal roofs, leading to an increase in the indoor air temperature of your home by up to 25 degrees. Also, unlike asphalt, metal roofing materials do not weaken and become damaged from exposure to the sun and inclement weather, meaning they last longer and keep your home at a cooler temperature with minimal maintenance.

Homes in Tennessee’s warmer climates particularly benefit from metal roofs, and many homeowners select cool-metal roofing to amplify the inherent energy efficiency of the material. A cool-metal roofing finish comprises a highly reflective and thermally emissive pre-painted coating that features cool pigments designed to increase solar reflectance and reduce the roof’s surface temperature. Reflectivity measures the amount of energy reflected from the roof surface, and thermal emittance refers to the panel’s ability to release absorbed heat.

Cool-metal or granular-coated metal roofing systems can transfer up to 90 percent of the solar radiation absorbed by the material back into the atmosphere, reducing energy consumption and making buildings more comfortable, even if they do not have air conditioning. Lighter-colored metal roofs are even more reflective and thermally emissive than darker colored ones, but both far outperform traditional asphalt in terms of heat absorption and energy efficiency.

Metal Roofing Retains Heat in the Winter

The reflective properties of metal roofing are equally beneficial during the winter months. While asphalt roofs absorb the most surface heat during the daytime, they lose the most heated air in the evenings. Painted metal roofs absorb less heat during the day, but the heat loss during the night is roughly half that expected with an asphalt roof. By adequately ventilating hot and cold air, metal roofs prevent substantial fluctuations between the outside temperature and the temperature of your attic. This can translate to a 30 percent savings in heating costs during the winter months. In addition, the color of the roofing can make a difference, with darker colors absorbing more heat and lighter colors reflecting more heat.

A recent experiment conducted over three nights in January compared the heat retention properties of asphalt and metal roofs by measuring the air space temperature below each roofing type. Researchers found that the airspace beneath the asphalt roof fell up to 15 degrees below the outside temperature, but the airspace beneath the metal roof did not fall below the outside temperature. In other words, the airspace beneath the metal roof was reported to be up to 20 degrees warmer than the airspace beneath asphalt shingles.

Not only does a metal roof offer superior temperature regulation, but it also helps keep your Knoxville home warm in the winter by preventing the harmful buildup of snow and ice. Asphalt roofs can become seriously damaged or even collapse under the weight of heavy snowfall. In addition, they are highly susceptible to ice dams along the margins of the roof that can result in the intrusion of water into your property. In contrast, metal roofs simply shed snow and ice as it accumulates, keeping your home safe from expensive and widespread damage that would make your heating system work harder to maintain your ideal indoor temperature.

Save On Cooling and Heating Costs

If you are interested in improving your home’s energy efficiency, you should consider replacing your current asphalt shingle roof with a new metal roof. Metal roofing systems offer superior reflective and thermal emission properties compared to asphalt shingle roofs, allowing them to keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Besides enhancing your home’s energy efficiency, metal roofs are also incredibly durable, easier to maintain, and can last up to a century with proper maintenance. And they are more environmentally friendly than asphalt roofs because they are typically made from recycled materials, are recyclable, and do not contain arsenic and other harmful chemicals that end up in landfills.

An investment into a metal roof can help you save money on your energy bills for decades to come while keeping your family comfortable during even the most extreme temperatures. Additionally, you can save money with a metal roof because it lengthens the lifespan of your HVAC system, increases the property value of your home, and offers a return of up to 90 percent.