Some of the strongest selling points for metal roofs include their energy efficiency and how great they are for the environment. I want to take a second to explain how exactly metal roofs compare and contrast to asphalt roofs regarding cooling costs in the summer and their impact on the home’s environment.

Reflecting heat, rather than absorbing it

Metal roofs actually reflects more solar radiation than asphalt roofs. Actually, asphalt shingles have the tendency to absorb that heat, making your home hotter. So with a metal roof, instead of absorbing that heat and letting it transfer into your home, making your air conditioning work harder to keep your home cool, up to 90% of that heat is reflected off the roof. This puts less stress on your air conditioning in the summer. In fact, many homeowners that have switched from an asphalt shingle roof to a metal roof have saved up to 40% of their air conditioning costs in the summer.

Environmentally Friendly

I actually stumbled across two big problems with asphalt shingles that impact the environment. First, they are tough to recycle. Asphalt shingles contain tons of toxic chemicals and because of that, it’s hard to work them into different products. One of those chemicals is lead, which leads me to the second issue with asphalt roofs. One study found that water that runs off asphalt shingle roofs have higher levels of lead. So that rainwater that runs off your roof into your hard or garden is actually contaminated with higher levels of lead.

Now this is where metal roofs have significant differences. For one, they are easy to recycle. EDCO products, for example, are 100% recyclable. Metal roofs also don’t contain those harmful chemicals that asphalt does, so it’s much better for the surrounding environment.

To conclude

Though metal roofs are a bit more expensive, it’s a classic example of “you get what you pay for”. The money you save on cooling your home in the summer alone will help to pay itself off. Plus your metal roof is much better for the environment than asphalt roofs.

Interested in a free estimate on a metal roof? Give our experts a call today.