Why Metal Roofing is Better for the Environment

One common misconception is that metal roofs retain more heat than shingle roofs, in fact it’s the opposite, Heat rays from the sun are drawn into asphalt shingles because their dark asphault base absorbs the heat. The heat is held by the shingles and can be
transfered down into the building itself. Which in turn will cause your AC/HVAC unit to go into overdrive, which will increase the costs of cooling your home.

On the other side due to advances in paint systems, most metal roofing manufacturers now have the capability to add reflective pigments to their coating systems. So in most cases even the darkest colored metal roofs (with rare exceptions) have a Solar reflectivity rating of .25 or higher still qualifying for energy star rating, lighter colored metal roofing panels can have a solar reflectivity rating of up to .76 a full three times the minimum standard to qualify for an energy star rating.

The main thing to remember is that metal roofs will reflect a portion of solar radiation, and re-emmit the rest back into the air, leaving only a minimum ammount of heat that is transfered into the structure itself.

When you look at the environmental impact of metal roofing vs. composition roofing there is no question metal roofing wins that fight hands down. Every year in the United States more than 11 MILLION TONS of shingles are buried in landfills across the country and it is estimated they will take about 300 YEARS to decompose.

Our metal roofing panels on the other hand are
manufactured with at least 25% recycled material and are 100% recyclable at the end of their long life cycle. The recycled panels are repurposed and won’t end up in a landfill.

Metal roofing systems can also be used to aid in water collection and it makes installing solar panels even easier with clips designed to fit on the panel seams.

If you would like to read more about some other benefits and things everyone should know about metal roofing click here.