Black Metal Roof: Pros, Cons, Energy-Efficiency & More

Published on Friday August 27, 2021

Having a black metal roof automatically gives your home a unique charm and curb appeal. They can suit many different home styles and homeowner preferences, and it matches practically any siding option available.

All of this helps make black metal roofs a desirable roofing option for many homeowners.

But that doesn’t mean they come without questions. What are the black metal roof pros and cons? Will a black metal roof make your house hotter? Is a black metal roof energy efficient?

Read on to find your answer!

What is a Black Metal Roof?

A black metal roof is a type of metal roof that is made from black steel. Metal roofing comes in a variety of colors no matter the style, so what makes a black metal roof different from other types of metal roofs is simply the color.

We’re mainly talking about roofs made from metal that is black rather than regular metal that has been painted black.

Painted metal roofs and metal roofs that are naturally one color have different qualities.

If you have the necessary painting skills, time, safety materials, and confidence to handle the job, painting your own metal roof can be a great way to save money while adding character to your home.

Just make sure to do the job right, or you could end up costing yourself more to get it fixed.

Black Metal Roofs: Pros and Cons

You may have already decided that you want a metal roof, now comes the time to figure out which color of roof you want and the pros and cons that come with each color option.

Let’s dive into black metal roof pros and cons to help you determine if the unique appearance is worth it for you:

Pros

A black metal roof performs much like other metal roofs, so you can expect most of the same advantages of metal roofs—of which there are many.

The major differences between a normal metal roof and a black metal roof come in appearance, curb appeal, and heat absorption.

Since darker colors tend to absorb more heat than lighter ones, a black metal roof may get a bit hotter than a lighter metal roof.

Typically, this doesn’t affect your indoor temperatures since the roofs are installed with under-roof ventilation and insulation to protect the efficiency and comfort of your home, but it’s important to consider when looking into roofing options.

Here are specific advantages you can expect when you upgrade your home to a black metal roof:

Unique, striking appearance
Polished, modern look to your home
Heat reflection helps snow and ice melt faster
Durability, longevity, and low maintenance
Energy-efficiency and eco-friendliness
Lightweight material (so low-stress on your roof structure)
Easy installation
Fire resistance

Cons

Since black metal roofs perform similarly to other metal roofs, you can expect many of the same cons as well. Here are a few to consider:

Surface of the roof heats up quickly
Slippery surface, so required maintenance or cleaning is dangerous
Expensive roofing type
Are able to be dented
They can be noisy, especially in storms and bad weather

Will a Black Metal Roof Make Your House Hotter?

As mentioned above, darker colors tend to absorb more heat than lighter colors naturally, so it would make sense that a black metal roof might make your home hotter than any lighter colored roofing.

Metal also gets hot when it sits in the sun, so wondering if a metal roof of any color will make your home hotter is a natural question.

Typically, metal roofs help reflect heat away from your home in the summer and reflect heat back into your home during the winter.

That being said, research shows that a black metal roof is capable of absorbing more heat in the summer months than a lot of other colors.

However, there are plenty of other factors to consider when figuring out if a black metal roof will make your house hotter.

The longer a black metal roof is exposed to direct sunlight, the more heat it absorbs — meaning, the more heat that is possible to transfer into your home — but having proper under roof ventilation and good insulation in your roof both make a big difference in that heat transfer process.

While a dark-colored metal roof does absorb more heat than lighter colors, most metal roofs are installed with plenty of under-roof ventilation to help keep your home’s comfort protected.

Additionally, the insulation placed in your attic and around your roof is designed to keep heat out in the summer and heat in during the winter.

If both the roof ventilation and insulation are in place — and you get your roof installed by a skilled professional who knows what they’re doing — you shouldn’t notice a change in indoor temperature when you install a black metal roof.

Is a Black Metal Roof Energy-Efficient?

While research suggests that black metal roofs absorb more heat than other metal roofing types, that doesn’t mean they lose all their energy efficiency.

Metal roofs naturally reflect heat away from themselves rather than absorbing it fully, allowing them to be one of the most energy-efficient roofing types on the market today.

And while black absorbs more heat than many other colors, that doesn’t mean black metal roofs lose all their energy efficiency.

Keep in mind that there are many things that contribute to how well a metal roof can increase your home’s energy efficiency.

If you have a high-quality metal roof that is installed properly by a professional, you can save up to 40 percent on energy costs thanks to the heat reflection abilities of metal roofing.

To be sure you get a black metal roof that will help the most with energy efficiency, be sure to familiarize yourself with the emissivity, reflectivity, and thermal resistance of different metal roofing types.

The material’s ability to radiate the sun’s heat away, reflect heat back in the direction it came, and the materials’ ability to resist heat flow all play a big role in how energy efficient it can be as a roof.

Does a Black Metal Roof Fade?

A common question when it comes to metal roofing—even black metal roofing—is this: will the color fade? Unfortunately, the answer is… yes, it can.

Any time you have a material that is continually exposed to weather and exterior elements, it’s going to fade over the course of time.

Obviously, if you’re dealing with a painted metal surface, then exposure to water, pollution, and other chemicals that exist in the atmosphere around that surface are going to react with the paint eventually and cause some type of breakdown.

The pigment in the paint will break down through exposure and cause a color change, usually causing the color to lighten over time.

But what about a black metal roof that isn’t painted? It may still be affected by color change over time due to how much exposure it gets. Here are some factors that directly affect a black metal roof fading:

UV Rays or Sun Exposure

This is one of the biggest external factors that determine how well (or poorly) a black metal roof maintains its color.

The strength of the UV rays continually pouring over a metal panel can hugely impact how well the metal maintains its color.

For example, sun rays in Florida are going to be far stronger than the rays in, say, Michigan, so a black metal roof may fade faster down south.

Temperature

Exposure to any temperature eventually causes a color in a metal roof to fade over a long enough period of time, but extreme temperatures will speed up that process.

Extreme heat or cold temperatures can cause your black metal roof to fade a bit faster.

Moisture

Excessive rain, humidity, snow, sleet, ice, and more all have an impact on how well your metal roof can keep it’s solid black color. If you live closer to a coastline or bay, your metal roof may experience a faster color fade than if you live more inland.

Upgrade Your Home with a Metal Roof Today

If you’ve been interested in upgrading your home with a metal roof but aren’t sure where to start, schedule an appointment with Long Home Products to discuss what options are available for installing a metal roof.

You can browse different metal roofing types, colors, and more, while getting all your roofing upgrade questions answered.