Not too long ago, there was a time when roofing contractors did nothing more than just to build and repair roofs of houses. However, as per the report by National Centre for Atmospheric Research or NCAR, roofing contractors are going to play a significant role in repairing not only the roofs of the houses, but the planet too.

Using a computer module, NCAR studied the future effect of climate change on urban areas and estimated as to how much the darker colored roofs and road surfaces absorb the sun’s energy. Dark colored surfaces like black roofing materials absorb more solar energy than the lighter colored ones and release the heat back into the atmosphere.

This phenomenon increases the temperature in the atmosphere, significantly and is the major cause for the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE), which makes the heavily populated city areas warmer than the nearby rural areas. You can take the example of London; due to Urban Heat Island Effect, the city experiences higher temperatures at night than the surrounding rural area, which are cooler by about three degrees.

Such a thing has much more effect in warmer climates and the air conditioning units work overtime to give people comfort, thus consuming more energy. According to the report of NCAR, if people paint their roofs white, they will do their bit in reducing the temperature of their cities.

The white colored roof are going to reflect most of the sun’s energy back into the atmosphere, absorb lesser heat and thus reduce energy consumption. Since the air conditioning units do not have to work overtime to keep the buildings cooler.

As a result, the environment is going to get benefitted immensely since, according to the findings of NCAR, the carbon emissions are going to get reduced drastically with every house in the world having a white colored roof.

If globally every house has a white colored roof, there is going to be a reduction in the emission of the harmful CO2 gases by 44 billion tones, every year. In other words, it is equivalent to the effect of not a single motor vehicle plying on the roads for 11 years.

The United States department of energy has already started painting the roofs of its departmental buildings with white color and though two million square feet got completed so far; the department is already experiencing energy savings worth half a million dollars, every year.

White color not only helps you to save money on energy spending, it is good for the environment too and even extends the life of your building roof by deflecting the Ultra Violet (UV) rays of the sun, which are harmful for the bitumen based roof materials.

However, if you reside in a cooler climate, painting your roof with white color can actually increase your energy consumption and carbon emissions. Since the white color keeps the building cool, you will require increased heating inside your building.

One more thing that you should remember is the location of the roof, since a white colored pitched roof within a city can divert Ultra Violet rays to the adjacent buildings thus increasing the energy consumptions of those buildings.

Overall, the concept of white colored roof is a good one; you should select to color your roof accordingly or in other lighter shades if you live in a warm climate, to do your bit for the environment. Just be careful with the location of your roof.

For more information on how to reduce your home energy consumption, check out the Earth4Energy download page. I’ve even written a short review about the program on this blog. Please read it to learn what it has to offer.

You may be considering replacing your old windows at home or you might have already taken the decision to buy replacement windows to give your home a face lift. But before you buy the new windows, there are 5 things you should decide upon in advance so that the entire Do It Yourself (DIY) project will be smooth and hassle free.

1) Choose your windows that meet your requirements.

The most important thing you need to do before buying new windows is to assess your needs. Measure the exact size of windows you need to. Measure twice to get the exact dimension.

If your measurement is not accurate, you may end up buying the wrong sized window and you will be wasting your time and money. Therefore, before you buy your replacement windows, you should have clear idea about the type of windows you are looking for.

2) Look for windows that have longer warranty period.

Window panes, like other home appliances, have warranty and the longer the warranty, the safer you are. There is, generally a correlation between warranty period and the quality of products. The longer the warranty, the better will be the quality.

Comparing the warranty period of different windows is a good way to assess the quality of the windows. Priority must be given to quality; not price.

3) Decide on the style and configuration of windows you are going to buy.

Unlike the bland windows of the past, windows of different style and configuration are now available in the market and they can enhance the appearance of your home. You must have seen those beautifully designed windows in interior design magazines. They come in different size, shapes and colors.

Windows made of different materials offer different advantages. Some are easy to clean whereas others add aesthetic features to your home. Decide which windows will suit your style and décor. Once you know what you are looking for, it becomes easy for you to choose the one from among an assortment of windows.

4) Find out how long the window replacement will take.

Though it is possible to replace the windows yourself, it will be better if it is done by qualified and experienced technicians. The technicians from the stores which sell the windows generally do the replacement work and they sometimes purposefully delay the work in order to charge you more by making the work seem very difficult and time consuming.

So the best thing you can do is to fix the time limit within which the work must be completed at a fixed installation rate. If any company doesn’t agree to your terms and conditions, don’t worry; there are many more companies which are ready to comply with the requirements of the customers.

5) Find out whether the payment options are acceptable to you.

Replacing your damaged or broken windows at home is a necessity and you may not presently be in a position to make a down payment of a large sum. If this is the case, find out if there are any new window dealers who allow credit and will accept payment in installments. Paying in installments will take a huge burden off your shoulders.

Window tinting is normally done with the aim of reflecting the infrared rays from inside and outside the buildings. The peculiarity of infrared ray is that it gets reflected by the people as well as objects.

As for example, the warmth inside even during the cold winter day is due to such an occurrence. The houses provided with duel glass panes will have to take great caution while fixing glass taints, which should be done by a competent professional, who knows different aspects of the work.

To begin with fixing window film, get a qualified installer who can know whether there is an existing coating on the glass pane that would cause a reaction with the window tint and heat up the glass. If so, it would result in breaking the window, which is one of the reasons why many manufacturers decline to honor the warranty of a glass with tinting.

But, generally window film manufacturers honor the warranty of their products against window breaking, caused by the film and also the damages to the seal. The warranty will remain throughout the period, if one utilizes the services of a professional to select the required film. The window films now for sale is far superior in quality, durability and safety than what was in market, some 10 to 15 years back.

Of course, some apprehensions remain about the subsequent scratching, which is no more a problem now. As a better safeguard against scratching, it is ideal to use the acrylic now available. But one has to be careful on dangers of ammonia, which would react and damage the acrylic.

Imagine the pleasant cool atmosphere of a room one enters in during a hot summer when temperature remains high outside with a burning sun. The best remedy lies in use of tints for the windows. This simple provision will help bring down the temperature to a great extent.

The window tinting also helps an air conditioner to maintain the cool atmosphere even in very hot weather, by reflecting or absorbing the heat. Another great advantage of window tinting is that it protects the home furnishings from getting easily faded and thus helps avoid frequent replacements.

The rays from the sun generally cause damage to many items in a habitat, such as furniture, floor, carpet and drapes, which will end up in ruining the interior furnishings. Think of a partially faded carpet inside a room, which one will have hide by covering with something else, which otherwise will look much awkward.

To avoid such embarrassments, the best option is to cover the windows with tints so as to keep the furnishings safe for a longer period. To avoid replacement and frequent repairs to various interiors of a house, due to damages caused by the sun, tinting is the best option which keeps a room cooler or warmer according to the changes in seasons.

The main highlight here is that the window films play a great role in the present day life, by helping one save energy, reducing the wear and tear caused by sun to the cooling systems, by preventing heat from entering into an atmosphere of home or business and ultimately by saving much of the money of its consumer.

For more ideas on how to keep your home cool during summer thus saving money on energy needed to run the air conditioner, visit the Power4Home guide created by John Russel. Read up on the Power4Home review on this blog for more information.