New Roofing in Menlo Park, CA: Just One Way to Beat the Summer Heat

While other states eagerly welcome the toasty days of summer, residents of Northern California have reason to be concerned about the change of season. As this article from The Sacramento Bee notes, as early as now, the area is experiencing record-breaking temperatures:

“As if the drought isn’t enough to worry about, weather officials say California is likely to experience a hotter-than-normal summer this year, a phenomenon certain to add anxiety for water agencies and fire departments.

Summer doesn’t officially begin until Saturday. But the heat already is scorching the record books, as seen by a wave of 100-degree weather that swept across Northern California early last week. Heat records fell at six locations in the Sacramento Valley, including downtown Sacramento, which saw a high of 107 degrees last Monday. That shattered the date’s record of 103, set in 1883.”

Furthermore, the National Climatic Data Center reports that the period from January to May is the warmest one on record. With summer barely through the door, people in Northern California—including those in the San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties—are bracing themselves for even hotter days ahead.

Fortunately, there are home improvements you can do to fend off the stifling heat. Below are a few suggestions you should definitely consider:

Repainting Your Home
If you’ve ever worn a dark-colored shirt in the summer, then you know how unbearably hot the feeling is. The same principle applies to your house’s exterior paint color: dull and dark hues absorb up to 90% of the sun’s radiant energy, the heat of which is conducted through the walls and into your home. To prevent this, consider repainting your walls in a lighter tone to deflect more of the sun’s rays.

Replace Your Roof
As the topmost part of your home, your roof is directly exposed to the sun. As such, a third of all the unwanted heat in your home builds up in the roof and radiates toward your living space. Thankfully, trusted Palo Alto, CA roofing contractors like Shelton Roofing can replace your current one with energy-efficient alternatives that provide better insulation against heat.

Reflect Heat from Your Windows
Windows are major entryways for heat, but you can add highly reflective films to them so that sunlight—and the heat it carries—will simply bounce off from the glass. Note, however, that mirror-like films are generally more effective than colored transparent ones.

No one can escape the summer heat completely, but there are ways to make it more bearable. By repainting your walls, adding reflective films to windows, and getting new roofing for Menlo Park, CA homes, you can enjoy a cooler summer this year.

(Source: Weather officials: California likely faces a long, hot summer, The Sacramento Bee, June 19, 2014)