Why is the Color of Your Metal Roofing so Important?

Do you know what color is? I’ll try to explain it in a few words without getting too geeky and scientific, and then I’ll tell you guys why the color of your metal roofing is so important.

So, here we go:
Color is not just a pretty attribute of a certain object. First of all, it’s the ability of a surface to reflect or absorb certain light wavelengths. Depending on the object’s material, it will reflect some wavelengths, absorbing the others. Color is our ability to perceive the reflected wavelengths.

Let’s see what happens when the light hits a certain object – in our case, the metal roofing. You know that simple visible white light consists of seven wavelength groups, matching the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Depending on your roof’s paint (or its color) some wavelength groups will be absorbed, while others will be reflected.

Phew! I’m done with the hard part. Now let’s see how all this scientific stuff reflects (directly and metaphorically!) on our metal roofs.

The color of your metal roofing has two main purposes: the practical one and the decorative one. I’m sure that most of you think first about the aesthetical aspect when choosing the color of the roof. The color of your roof has to be pretty, to reflect your taste and your personality. Also, it has to match with the color of your house, harmonizing with the exterior design. If your house is painted in a brown palette, it won’t be such a great idea to have a blue or green roof. And vice-versa! But a white painted house will allow you to use any color you want for the roof. The same goes for a white roof – it will match even with a pink or orange painted house!

Then, you should not forget that the metal roofing color has to match not only with the color of your house! If you live in a nice suburb neighborhood, make sure that the new color of your metal roof will harmoniously integrate in the general design of your street. You don’t want angry neighbors pointing fingers at your house and saying that you’re ruining the whole picture!

Now that we’re done with the decorative side of the problem, let’s move to the practical aspect of metal roofing colors:

Here we’ll make a good use of the scientific stuff I wrote above. Because certain colors reflect different groups of wavelengths, they have the ability of absorbing or reflecting the heat coming from the sunrays. How can we use this attribute for our benefit?

First of all, identify your main problem. If you live in a warm area and you’re simply suffocated by the intense heat, especially during summer, than you must choose a light color for your metal roofing. Light colors – white, beige, delicate greens, browns and reds – will reflect away most of the sun’s energy. This way, you’ll considerably lower your cooling expenses.

On the other hand, if you live in a cold area and you’re constantly struggling for conserving the warmth in your house, than opt for a darker metal roofing color. Grey, brown or cedar shades, brick red or deep green will absorb most of the heat coming from the sun, transmitting it from the metal roofing panels to the whole structure of the building. It’s a good way of reducing the heating costs!

See how many benefits you can get simply from selecting the most appropriate metal roofing colors? Beauty, harmony and elegance on one side and temperature control on the other!