How We Help Combat the Urban Heat Island Effect

The urban heat island effect (UHI) is a phenomenon where urban areas generate more heat than the surrounding, rural areas. These areas are hotter for a variety of reasons and can increase heat signatures by up to 10 degrees. Luckily, this phenomenon can be addressed partly by careful residential roofing and planning.

How We Help Combat the Urban Heat Island Effect

What Causes UHI?

UHI is basically caused by the fact that our cities are absorbing way too much ambient heat from the sun, generating excess heat from our daily activities and technology, and doing very little to mitigate this. One way of looking at this is by studying the physics of color: darker colors tend to absorb more sunlight, which means that they also absorb more of the sun’s heat. So, when you wear a black shirt, you get hotter faster, whereas a white shirt can help you keep cooler.

The same happens in cities when residential and commercial roofs are either made with traditional asphalt shingles or any material in shades that absorb more heat. There’s not much we can do about that since getting white roofing shingles for each and every property just isn’t an option. It doesn’t help that there are fewer trees in urban areas, which impede the area’s evaporative cooling process (hint: it’s what happens when we sweat. Trees do that for our cities).

What Can We Do?

Luckily, there are things we can do to reduce the effect of UHI. First and foremost, we can start by coating our (otherwise standard) roofs with white coatings. Duro-Shield™, for example, has an acrylic white coat that can go a long way towards reducing your roof’s ability to absorb heat.

If white isn’t for you, you can look through any of the cool roof shingles from Owens Corning®. These shingles are designed to reflect more of the sun’s rays back, reducing the amount of heat that gets transferred from the roof to your home. This doesn’t just reduce the UHI effect, but it also makes your home more energy efficient.

On the other hand, you can consider a few residential solar roofing solutions from Owens Corning.. Solar panels, despite their dark color, reflects a lot of the sun’s thermal energy back into the air, reducing the amount of heat your roof absorbs and transfers into your home. And, since it also generates energy for your home, you reduce your reliance on consumer energy providers, which can reduce the load on their respective power plants – which are a major source of heat in the UHI effect. Just make sure to keep up with your roof maintenance if you go this route.

Want to know more about how we can help you reduce the urban heat island effect? Give us a call. Pressure Point Roofing, Inc., can be reached at (541) 772-1945, or you can reach us via our contact form. We look forward to serving our neighbors throughout Medford, OR.

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I just wanna give a shout out to one of your guys who jumped out of vehicle to help me push my van out from 62 onto coker Butte this morning awesome job and thank you so much..

Linda Marie Eppler

No hassles, no stress roofing contractor.

We've worked with a number of contractors over the years doing home improvement projects and I can say that, without question, working with Pressure Point was about as easy as it gets.

Everything about the project, from sales all the way to final inspection, went like clockwork and without a hitch.  They delivered more than they promised, on time and within budget.   We could not have been happier with their personnel, products and services.  Highly recommended!

Steven Belsky

I've changed my review from a 1 star to a 4 stars. Matt Stone got right on a pretty poor job done installing a skylight. He had his guys remove the skylight, move it, repair the roof and inside ceiling to its original state, paint it, repair some external trim that was damaged, and all within a few days after talking to him about the multiple problems. It was really an eyesore from the inside. I'd give a 5 star if this had been done well the first time. The skylight just didn't fit the space I first wanted it and was told it would. More communication about the potential problems might have allowed this to be done right the first time. But, Pressure Point Roofing gets 5 starts for making amends and correcting a pretty ugly problem, very fast! Thank you.

Linda Brown

I needed someone to come out to take a look at a leaky roof. I contacted Pressure Point Roofing, Inc. and they came out the same day. They gave me a quote to fix the problem and I agreed to their terms. It was about 4PM and I knew they closed at 5PM but they stayed and fixed the leak at no additional cost. I was very happy and impressed. Would recommend them to anyone. Thank you Pressure Point Roofing for earning our families trust. Will definitely be doing business with you again.

Dan LePari

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Matt Stone

Excellent experience, prompt and professional estimate, showed up on schedule (actually a day early) and did a thorough and complete job. All personnel were professional,polite and great at their jobs. Would recommend to anyone.

Karen Teliantyler-Tyler

I am so happy I chose Pressure Point to replace my 40-year-old roof.  The crew was professional, efficient, and answered all my questions, addressed the few concerns I raised, and made me feel comfortable, trusting them with such a big project.  I couldn't be happier with their work and the look of my new roof.

Mary J Griswold

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