Energy Awareness Month Tip: Start at the Top of the House
Welcome to October. A time to pull out the quilts, turn on the heat and start getting ready for colder weather. As you’re preparing your home for the winter ahead, it’s smart to think about the energy your home will use. Perhaps that’s why October has been designated as Energy Awareness Month.
Keeping your home energy efficient means more than just turning off lights when not in use. It means giving your home a “top to bottom” energy evaluation.
On top of the house, the roof receives direct exposure on a daily basis to the sun and elements. And all those searing sun rays can cause the home interior to heat up in bad ways if the right roofing tiles are not selected. Fortunately, the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC), an independent testing organization, has developed accurate and credible methods for evaluating and labeling the solar reflectance and thermal emittance of roofing products.
Choosing a composite tile roof, such as the DaVinci EcoBlend® slate or shake options, can help reflect sunlight and heat away from the home.
Approved by the CRRC, six color blends are available that all meet California’s 2016 Building Energy Standards (Title 24, Part 6) requiring the use of energy-efficient roofing materials. Two of the roof colors from DaVinci Roofscapes® — Weathered Gray EcoBlend and Castle Gray EcoBlend — also meet the stringent requirements to receive the ENERGY STAR designation.
“EcoBlend roof tiles reflect heat and emit the sun’s energy back into the atmosphere instead of into a structure, which is important for a roof in any region of the country,” says Ray Rosewall, CEO and president of DaVinci Roofscapes. “These composite shake and slate tiles help reduce the cooling load, and, as a result, increase the energy efficiency of a building. An additional bonus is that a cooler roof contributes to a lower heat island effect in heavily populated areas. This in turn helps reduce a home’s carbon footprint.”
As you start evaluating your home for its energy efficiency this month, remember to start at the roof. And, if you need tips on building or maintaining an energy-efficient home (which includes consideration of appliances and home electronics, insulation and air sealing, lighting, space heating and cooling, along with water heating), visit www.energystar.gov. Full checklists are available there for energy efficient home design and do-it-yourself home energy audits.