<
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-26/heat-trapping-dark-roof-cost-extra-electricity/103631672>
"If you visit southern Greece or Tunisia, you might notice lots of white
rooftops and white buildings to reflect the intense heat and keep residents
cooler.
It's very different in Australia. New housing estates in the hottest areas
around Sydney and Melbourne are dominated by dark rooftops, black roads and
minimal tree cover. Dark colours trap and hold heat rather than reflect it.
That might be useful in winters in Tasmania, but not where heat is an issue.
A dark roof means you'll pay considerably more to keep your house cool in
summer. Last year, the average household in New South Wales paid $1,827 in
electricity. But those with a lighter-coloured cool roof can pay up to $694
less due to lower cooling electricity needs. Put another way, a dark roof in
Sydney drives up your power bill by 38 per cent.
When suburbs are full of dark-coloured roofs, the whole area heats up. And up.
And up. This is part of the urban heat island effect. In January 2020, Penrith
in Western Sydney was the hottest place on Earth.
Cool roofs have many benefits. They slash how much heat gets into your house
from the sun, keep the air surrounding your home cooler, boost your aircon
efficiency, and make your solar panels work more efficiently.
State governments could, at a stroke, penalise dark roofs and give incentives
for light-coloured roofs. Scaled up, it would help keep our cities cooler as
the world heats up. But outside South Australia, it's just not happening."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
