Choosing which color to paint your home is more than a simple matter of taste and style. The colors and materials of your home also affect the temperature inside. The wrong choice can make your home uncomfortable, not to mention drive up your energy bills. The right choice can reduce your need for AC during those long California summers and make your home eco-friendlier overall.
Here’s how paint colors affect the interior temperature of your home:
A simple rule of thumb
Think about how you feel on a sweltering July day wearing a white versus a black shirt. If you want to keep cool, you’d pick a lighter color, right? Well, the same is true for your home. Dark and/or dull colors can absorb up to 90 percent of the sun’s energy, making your home hotter. So even if you love the dramatic effect of navy paint, for example, it’s not a great color choice for a home in a warm climate. By contrast, light-colored paint reflects the sun’s heat, sending it away from your home. White paint, for example, gains 35 percent less heat than black. Don’t like the look of white paint? Choose another cool color, like pale blue.
Materials matter, too
Heavier materials like brick or stone are more likely to block the sun’s hot rays. Adobe, a classic southwestern building material, is good for cooling as well.
If you’d like to keep your home cool in the California heat, give Richard Stewart Painting a call at 818-951-1181. We’ll make your home look great and keep it cool, at a price you can afford.
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