I was doing some research the other day on types of roofing materials and the pros and cons to having a reflective roof in this climate. There are an abundance of reflective roofing materials, from shingles with reflective particles in them (that allow you to use darker colours but still have the heat reflection benefits), recyclable vinyl roofs, sheet metal roofs, reflective membranes/barriers of various types, as well as “paint on” types of products for existing roofs. Interestingly, my husband remembered that his mother’s business had applied one of those paint-on products years ago to the existing flat black roof and it made a big difference in the temperature (i.e., no longer melting his shoes to the roof!) when he went up to clean out the swamp cooler.

What I found out, however, was in this climate the advantage of a reflective roof would be minimal. The average “cooling degree days” (i.e., how many degrees a year you are cooling to get to 65 degrees F.) is 458. Compare that, with, say, Phoenix, that has nearly the same rainfall as we do annually (i.e., desert) but has 4162 cooling degree days! You can look up your heating/cooling degree days on this website.

There does still seem to be some benefit to having a lighter coloured roof in this climate, so we probably will go with that but perhaps not worry about the speciality products. I’m not sure what the cost comparison is between products, which would be the biggest factor, but it does seem to make more sense at this point to concentrate on high-quality windows and insulation, with a long-lasting shingle (reflective or not).

There is a fair amount of helpful information on roofing material types and benefits at the Roofing Contractor website.

Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency : ENERGY STAR.

Here’s the site with the requirements for the “green” federal tax credits.

Fomo Products, Inc., manufacturers of polyurethane (PU) foam insulation, sealants, adhesives, and spray foam systems in pressurized packaging

Interested particularly in their eco-foam line of sealants.

I received a notice in this month’s bill from my gas company about rebates for insulation, HE gas furnaces, tankless water heaters, HE washing machines, etc. and am wondering how this works for a new build. Would you really get a bunch of money back simply for putting new insulation in, or is it only for replacing old stuff? Well, the PDF application form has a spot for checking if it’s a new build or existing building, so it must be for new builds, too. Seems there’s quite a few rebates for my state, but many of them are for the west side. Hmmm. Here’s another page from my power company.

Definitely looks worth a roadtrip when we get closer to actually building anything. Found this when searching for a distributor for recycled denim insulation. A friend is using it in her cabin, says it seems to be about double the cost of conventional. Looks great for someone with asthma and has been something I’d really like to incorporate.

More info about R-factors and stuff like that from the Department of Energy.