With today's growing focus on durability, energy efficiency, and sustainability, roofing technology is advancing to keep up with those trends.
Now fully into 2024, professional roofers are seeing exceptional growth in certain areas of the roofing industry.
Read here about the top 10 innovations that roofing companies are embracing as they find newer and better ways to serve their many residential and commercial customers.
- Metal Roofing - Though often skipped over in the past due to its higher price tag, metal roofing is now surging in popularity based on its durability against extreme weather as well as its energy efficiency. A metal roof may cost more initially, but it will last decades longer than many other roofs, making it an ideal solution for homes and buildings in hotter regions and more storm-prone locations.
- Impact and Wind Resistant Materials - With metal roofing and impact-resistant asphalt shingles at the top of the list, roofers are seeing a rising interest in materials highly rated for their impact and wind resistance. As the severity of coastal storms and hurricanes continues to increase, these ratings are becoming more important and desirable for any roofing system.
- Cool Roofing - Materials made to be more UV-reflective are also gaining in popularity as residential and commercial property owners both seek ways to make their homes and buildings more energy-efficient. Roofing companies in hotter climates recommend lighter-colored materials, those with reflective UV coatings, and natural roofing materials like tile and slate, all of which can significantly reduce the amount of heat passing into a building.
- Solar Roofing - The options in solar roofing continue to grow as interest in these products rises. With better, more powerful, and efficient panels and tiles now available, and more financial incentives to invest, the popularity of solar roofing of various types continues to rise.
- Green Roofing - Though it is not a new idea, the number of larger building owners investing in green concepts that make efficient use of rooftop space is also increasing. The tops of flat buildings can be used as leisure space to increase usable square footage, a place to grow crops, or a place to grow vegetation to reduce water runoff and improve urban air quality.
- Recycled and Synthetic Materials - The focus on reducing harmful landfill waste has led to the development of many synthetic and recycled roofing materials that last much longer than the most common choices. Today, roofers have access to composite shingles, recycled rubber roofing, metal systems, and other products that last decades longer than common shingles and can be continuously recycled to keep them out of landfills.
- Bright Colors - From a style point of view, contractors are also seeing a higher demand for brighter and more pleasing colors as homeowners look for new ways to improve the appearance of their homes. To meet that demand, materials manufacturers now offer wider color and shade palettes to satisfy almost any color scheme idea.
- Self-Healing Materials - A newer technology in the impact-resistant roofing sector, self-healing shingles are seeing favorable responses in many locations that experience frequent storms and high winds. Made partially from thermoplastics, these materials repair themselves using only the sun’s heat, reducing the damage that impacts such as hail or blown debris can cause on a roof.
- Foam Insulation - High-quality foam insulation panels are another option available from professional roofing companies as an improved way to keep a roofing installation more energy-efficient. These foam panels are lighter in weight while also being more insulative than many other types of insulation, making an ideal heat barrier under various types of roofing materials.
- Smart Roofing - Another emerging technology in the industry, smart roofing is equipped with sensors that can detect leaks, overheating, humidity, and other issues, alerting homeowners to these problems before significant damage can occur. With a smart system, it is possible to monitor roofing function and energy efficiency and make modifications as needed to protect both.
Talk To A Professional Roofer About New Roof Products
With the atmosphere getting hotter and storms getting stronger each year, roofing designed to be resilient, efficient, and cost-effective has never been so important.
Fortunately, the new technology available to professional roofers addresses many of these problems.
Before deciding on the same old thing, home and building owners should talk to a respected roofing company about the new roofing solutions available and which ones can benefit them the most!
