How Much Money Does A Metal Roof Save?

Metal roofs are a beautiful thing. They come in a variet of styles from old fashioned tin roofs for country homes to ones that look like tile or even wood shingles. On average, with most insurance companies, a metal roof can save you up to twenty percent off of your yearly home insurance bill. In my case that amounted to $400. In addition you get the peace of mind knowing that your roof is very fire resistant to things like fireworks and will withstand severe weather including hail much better than a shingle roof.

Where metal roofs really "shine" is in energy savings. Because metal radiates heat more that it absorbs it it does not collect and store the suns heat like a shingle or tile roof. Metal roofs are soon cool to the touch after the sun goes down while an ashphalt shingle roof will continue to radiate heat down into the attic. Metal roofs can save you as much as 20% on your utility bill by keeping your attic several degrees cooler in summer. You can increase the savings by adding a radiant barrier under the metal roof to reflect even more heat rays.

Radiant barriers are the latest energy saving invention and can be installed directly under the metal roof or later, between the rafters up against the under side of the roof.

If you choose a metal roof be sure and choose a continuous ridge vent and sofftit vents. These enable hot air under the roof to travel up and out the top. In addition I would recommend that if you live in a hot climate to consider solar powered roof vents to remove even more hot air. Adding more attic insulation will further reduce your bills. In my personal case, having done all four, metal roof, radiant barrier, roof vents and attic insulation, I have reduced my cooling bills by about one quarter to one half of what they were with the asphalt shingle roof.

A metal roof makes sense, especially with rising energy and insurance costs.