Shingle shades and air conditioning

My wife and I will have a GAF/ELK Timberline Prestique 30 roof installed next Friday. We’ve chosen the Hickory shade. My roofer will order it on Monday.

Summers here in Houston are brutal. I’ve been looking at Prestique’s Shakewood shade which in lighter, nearly tan. Can anyone tell me if the difference in air conditioning costs for the two shades will be signifigant.

Proper Balanced Ventilation, Intake and Exhaust, will mean as much, if not more than the shingle color, although the lighter Tan color will have less solar heat gain.

Ed

Remeber hot air rises and well if there is the correct ammount of insulation there then you should not have as much air loss in the attic. If you are looking to really save money in the long run here are some suggestions:

  1. Buy a quality window like fiberglass. They will retain there shape and insulate the walls better. 45% of heat/cold air loss is going out the window litterally. you are going to want a LOW U value and a high R value. Plastic window will warp and then you will have problems. Wood is ok but still expands and contracts alot.

  2. Add insulation in the attic to low the loss of air conditioned air into the attic.

  3. Spend the money to properly ventilate the roof.