What Was Your Roof Doing While Your A/C Was Working Overtime?

There are hot summer days, and then there are days when you walk outside and the heat almost takes your breath away.

We experienced one of those days right here at the Southern Builders home office in El Dorado, Arkansas.

The thermometer reached 107 degrees.

That was the actual air temperature, not the heat index.

On a day like that, most of us are thinking about one thing when we walk through the front door: air conditioning.

We turn the thermostat down. The A/C keeps running. Ceiling fans are spinning. Curtains get closed. We try to keep the doors shut, and we hope the electric bill is not going to be as painful as the temperature outside.

But there is another part of the home dealing with that blazing summer sun hour after hour.

Your roof.

That question matters because your air conditioner and your roof are not working independently of one another.

During hot weather, heat entering through the roof becomes part of the cooling load your air-conditioning system has to overcome. The more heat your home gains, the more work may be required to maintain the temperature you want inside.

This is where roof color and insulation become important.

The U.S. Department of Energy explains that reflective roofs can stay considerably cooler in the summer sun than traditional dark roofing surfaces. DOE research has also found that cool roofs can reduce air-conditioning energy use in warm climates, although actual savings depend on the individual building and conditions.

In other words, the roof over your head can play a role in how hard your cooling system has to work.

What Could This Summer Have Cost You?

We cannot look at a homeowner's electric bill and promise exactly how much a Perma-Roof would have saved. Every mobile home is different, and so are electric rates, cooling systems, thermostat settings, and weather conditions.

But we can ask a much more useful question.

What if your roof could have absorbed less of that summer heat in the first place?

Imagine those afternoons when the temperature was pushing 100 degrees or more. The sun had been beating down on the roof since morning. Your air conditioner had been cycling throughout the day, trying to maintain a comfortable temperature inside.

Now imagine having a light-colored steel roof above your existing mobile home roof, along with another layer of insulation between the outside heat and the living space below.

That is one of the reasons Southern Builders encourages homeowners to go with the standard white when choosing a Perma-Roof color.

White and other light-colored roofing surfaces reflect more sunlight than darker surfaces. Less absorbed sunlight can mean a cooler roof surface and less heat working its way toward the inside of the home.

Then there is the insulation.

Every Southern Builders Perma-Roof comes standard with foil-backed polystyrene insulation. The insulation is installed between the new steel roof and the existing roof, adding another layer between the summer sun and the home below.

Put those pieces together and the idea becomes pretty simple:

The Department of Energy has reported that, in warm and hot climates, replacing a conventional roof with a cool roof can reduce annual air-conditioning energy use in a single-story building by as much as 15 percent in some circumstances.

This shows why reflective roofing deserves consideration when temperatures reach the kind of extremes we experienced this summer.

Think back over the last few months.

How often did your A/C seem like it never shut off?

How many times did you look at the thermostat and wonder why the house was having trouble cooling down?

And when that electric bill arrived, how many times did you wish there was something you could do to help?

You cannot control whether next summer brings another 107-degree day.

But you can make decisions today about the roof protecting your home when that heat returns.

Summer Is Leaving. Your Roof's Job Is Not.

Here is where the story changes.

August is beginning to wind down. The calendar is moving toward September. Eventually, those brutal afternoons will give way to cooler mornings, falling leaves, shorter days, and the first hints of fall.

After a summer like this one, cooler weather will probably feel pretty good.

But your roof does not get the season off.

The same roof that spent the summer facing intense sunlight and extreme temperatures will soon have a different job.

Fall can bring rain, wind, falling limbs, leaves, and changing temperatures. Then winter arrives with cold rain, freezing temperatures in some areas, and the possibility of ice or snow depending on where you live.

If your existing roof already has a questionable area, a small leak, loose material, repeated patches, or a problem you have been meaning to address, waiting for winter weather to expose it may not be the best plan.

The stain you ignore in August could become the leak you are dealing with during a cold December rain.

That is why this time of year creates an opportunity.

Instead of waiting for the next season to tell you that your roof has a problem, you can prepare before it gets here.

During summer, homeowners may appreciate the benefits associated with a reflective roof color and additional insulation.

During fall and winter, that same roof continues doing what matters most: protecting the home underneath it.

That is why we do not look at the Perma-Roof as a seasonal purchase.

It is an investment in the home for every season, like the summer heat, fall rain, winter weather, and spring storms.

Your roof is there for all of it.

And when Southern Builders installs a Perma-Roof, the workmanship is backed by a lifetime workmanship warranty against leaks*.

For a homeowner who has spent years coating a roof, patching leaks, replacing damaged roofing, or worrying every time the forecast turns bad, that can change the way you think about your roof.

Instead of asking, "How much longer will this repair last?"

You can start asking a different question:

"Is it time to invest in a long-term solution?"

Do Not Wait for the First Cold Rain

Summer gave us the warning.

We saw what 100-plus-degree temperatures could do. We heard air conditioners running. We felt the heat radiating from roofs, pavement, vehicles, and everything else sitting beneath the summer sun.

Now we have an opportunity to look ahead.

Walk around your mobile home. Look at the roof from the ground. Think about the repairs you have already made. Remember the leaks you patched last winter or spring. Think about how many more seasons you want to continue doing the same thing.

If a new roof has been on your mind, do not wait until the first cold rain is falling and water is showing up inside the home.

Prepare now.

Southern Builders installs Perma-Roof systems year-round, weather permitting. As seasons change, scheduling and weather conditions can affect installation timing, so planning ahead can give you more flexibility.

The 107-degree day is behind us.

Fall and winter are ahead.

And before we know it, another Southern summer will be here again.

The question is not whether the seasons will change.

The question is whether your roof will be ready when they do.