Energy efficiency makes a difference, especially for Central Florida homes.

The more energy efficient a structure is, the less money you’ll spend cooling it in the summer and heating it in the winter. Problems with your building’s outer envelope are among the biggest contributors to energy waste. This is largely because they interfere with the natural flow of warm air up and out of your home.

When this daily heat cycle is interrupted, it means sweltering heat is trapped inside with you, making it harder and harder to get cool. As temperatures soar to 90 degrees and beyond starting in May, your air conditioner struggles to meet the set point you specify. It could end up running practically the entire day.

The end result: A cooling bill that spikes by up to $200 in the warmer months.

And that extra wear and tear almost always results in costly repairs to your air conditioning.

What does all that have to do with your roof? Your roof is the biggest contributor to home energy efficiency. A roof must be sound, secure, and have adequate insulation and ventilation. If any of these factors are missing, it will have a major impact on energy efficiency throughout the year.

Boost Your Energy Efficiency by Upgrading and Updating Your Roof

The most common roof in Central Florida is shingle. Shingle roofs are reliable and easy to repair and maintain. That said, they can gradually contribute to energy efficiency problems that far reduce their value over time.

The best way to improve the energy efficiency of a shingle roof is to make sure it gets inspected once a year and receives necessary roof repairs. Only a qualified Central Florida roofing contractor can evaluate your roof. Don’t leave the job to a “handyman” – look for experience and proof of insurance.

Roof repairs boost the energy efficiency of a roof by ensuring there are no places where wind, rain, and even roof pests can infiltrate your roof. The flow of warm air through your home will be uninterrupted and escape through the soffit vents or other ventilation, which an expert roofer can expand if necessary.

Looking for immediate improvements in your roof’s efficiency? There’s one important thing you can do right now before you even pick up the phone and call your local roofing contractor: If you use your attic to store boxes and crates, get everything out of there as soon as you can.

Florida attics aren’t designed for storage, and the reduced airflow causes problems not only with your home’s temperature but with the roof itself too. When solar radiation is at its highest in the early afternoon, low airflow amplifies the heat. This can lead to your shingles “baking” from below, turning them soft and weak.

This is just one example of a roofing problem you can’t spot with a visual inspection from ground level. These shingles are highly vulnerable to water intrusion. Small amounts of moisture can start to punch through and collect in your attic. Eventually, the entire shingle will simply fall away.

For the Ultimate in Efficiency, Consider Residential Metal Roofing

When you want the best energy efficiency in Florida, residential metal roofing is for you.

One of the decisive factors in whether a roof is energy efficient is how reflective it is. Over the last few years, premium roofing brands like GAF have made tremendous strides in ensuring all of their shingle products incorporate reflective granules and other improvements.

At the level of your roof, it can be 30 degrees or even hotter than it is at ground level. With that in mind, the more heat gets reflected away from your roof, the better. But there’s a limit to what even the best roofing shingles can achieve. To maximize energy efficiency in Florida, you need the unique capabilities of metal.

Today’s metal roofing is strong, stylish, and beautiful. A good metal roof can last twice as long as a shingle roof or even longer. And even a metal roof that isn’t white (the most reflective color) still has the ability to reflect around half of the solar radiation that strikes it at any given time, much more than a shingle roof.

On a practical level, this can save you hundreds of dollars in cooling costs throughout the summer.

Sheegog Contracting Is Your Source for the Most Energy Efficient Roofs

No matter what kind of roof you prefer, Sheegog Contracting is with you every step of the way.

Contact us today to find out more or get started with your new roof in Central Florida.