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Does Roof Color Affect Your Home?

When you’re driving around through your neighborhood, one of the last things you’re probably noticing is the color of the roof on the houses as they pass by. Roof colors are usually fairly dark, somewhat muted, and don’t draw much attention. While you might notice your own roof color, do you know what color your neighbor’s roof is? Do you know what other colors you can find in the neighborhood?

This may seem like a fairly mundane thing to pay attention to, but the truth is the color of your roof is actually a pretty important choice and can have a significant impact on your entire home. On this blog, our professional Tucson roofers will explore this impact and help you choose the right color if you’re in need of a roof replacement.

Thermal Properties

Have you ever left a piece of black plastic out in the sun and a similar white piece of plastic? After just a few minutes, you’ve likely noticed that the black piece is substantially warmer than the white piece. This is because the color black absorbs light, including infrared light. Conversely, white reflects all light which keeps it cooler. The same principle can be applied to your roof: the darker the color, the more energy it absorbs and the hotter it gets, and vice-versa for lighter colors. This is particularly important because the energy your roof absorbs gets passed into your home below, which makes your home warmer and forces you to run your air conditioner more often.

Of course, white isn’t a common color and lighter roofs tend to look dirty and worn out far faster than darker-colored counterparts. This is one reason why red clay roofing tiles are so popular in Arizona. They have a popular southwest-inspired aesthetic quality, they’re durable, and the red color reflects much of the heat-causing radiation from the sun, keeping your home cooler below it.

Aesthetic Choice

Then there’s the other factor to your roof’s color: how does it look with your home? This is where personal preference might come in, but you probably shouldn’t consider doing anything extreme with your roof. Loud colors or any color that sticks out from the rest of the homes around you is going to reflect poorly not only on your neighbors, but on your home as well. If you’re planning on reselling your home soon, don’t get a black or dark brown roof in a neighborhood full of red clay tiles. Likewise, don’t go for an extremely light color when dark-red or brown tiles is the common choice. Curb appeal is an extremely important factor in how quickly a home sells, and you’ll want to do everything you can to maximize it to keep your property value high.

You might even be restricted in what colors you can choose for your roof. If your home is located in a neighborhood managed by an HOA, the HOA will likely have rules about what type of roofing material you’re allowed to choose and what color you can get. Some neighborhoods will allow you to choose between two or three colors, while others will mandate it has to be one extremely specific color. Any way you want to go about it, just make sure you check with your HOA’s rules before scheduling your roof replacement—there isn’t much that’s more frustrating as a homeowner than paying for a roof replacement and then having your HOA tell you that you have to replace it again because it’s not the right color or style.

Get more information about replacing your roof by calling the Tucson roofersat Lyons Roofing today at (520) 447-2522!