Returning to their ranch-style house in Sacramento after a long summer workday, Jon and Kim Waldrep were routinely met by a wall of heat.
"We'd come home in the summer and the house would be 115 degrees, stifling," said Jon Waldrep, a regional manager for a national company.
All that changed in June. "Now we come home on days when it's over 100 degrees outside, and the house is at 80 degrees," Waldrep said.
Their solution was a new roof: a shiny plasticized white covering that experts say is not only an energy saver but also a way to help cool the planet.
Relying on the centuries-old principle that white objects absorb less heat than dark ones, homeowners such as the Waldreps are in the vanguard of a movement embracing "cool roofs" as one of the most affordable weapons against climate change.
Studies show white roofs reduce air conditioning costs by 20 percent or more in hot, sunny weather. Lower energy consumption also means fewer of the carbon-dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming.
SAVINGS
Here are annual air conditioning savings for various roof colors and types on a 1,770-square-foot home compared with a dark gray shingle roof, according to Florida Power & Light.
•Terra cotta, S-shaped cement tile, $15
•White shingles, $25
•White flat cement tile, $100
•White S-shaped cement tile, $110
•White galvanized metal, $130
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