I have this notion that I should hose water on my roof when it gets really hot outside (like 100 degrees, Florida). I can almost see the heat coming out of the shingles. I know that evaporation creates cooling. So if I sprinkle water on the roof it should get cooler. Haven't tried it because I don't want to look like a dweeb to my neighbors.
2006-08-06 18:19:54 · 20 answers · asked by Xenozoik 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
you will look like a dweeb the water will burn off to fast buy an air conditioner or look into an attic or gable fan
2006-08-06 18:24:14 · answer #1 · answered by alaskanecho 4 · 1⤊ 7⤋
Wow, OK. here's my 2 cents:
almost all of the heat in a house is caused by the roof materials absorbing solar radiation then conducting, convecting and re-radiating it into the attic space. From there it convects, conducts, and re-radiates into the living space. The goal of attic insulation is to slow the heat transfer. If it is slowed enough the sun goes down and some of the heat reverses course to reach the nigh time sky.
Watering a hot roof will pull out a great deal of heat. That bit of heat heat does not get to enter the home. So yes! watering a roof can help avoid heat gain on the roof. This is not the same as cooling the house. A hot house with a wet roof is still a hot house.
A much more effective idea is to use highly reflective roof material, even to add white or silver paint to a roof.
I hope this helps.
2015-07-24 12:00:12 · answer #2 · answered by August 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think you would just waste water and make it more humid (if that is possible in Florida) around your house.
There should be insulation between the roof and the top floor of the house. Any heat under the roof should not be getting into the house through the ceiling, and any cooling you do to the roof alone would also not affect the temperature inside the living areas of the house.
Cooling the house (in order of effectiveness):
1. air conditioning
2. eliminate or reduce the use of electrical appliances and lights during the day as well as using heavy drapes or plantation shutters to keep the sun out. Then at night open things up so that you get cross-ventilation and use fans
Once upon a time I lived without air conditioning. Whenever I had to be at home in the heat of the day I wet down my hair and kept it damp to help cool me down. At night, I would wet a sheet in the tub, wring it out, and sleep under it. As long as I had a fan, I was pretty comfortable, actually.
2006-08-06 18:29:54 · answer #3 · answered by Novice restauranteur 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It won't do much to cool your house once it gets hot, but it can do a lot to keep it from getting hot. Basically it will prevent heat from getting inside where you are. But once it gets hot inside, water on the roof will do very little in the way of drawing heat out of your living space.
Some people across the street from me did it in the recent heat wave Ca. just went through. Got to say though, they did look like dweebs.
2006-08-06 22:20:13 · answer #4 · answered by Pepper 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I always water my roof. It cools down the house very much. I will also hose down the driveway in the evening to help cool the ground in which helps cool the air near the house.
2006-08-06 21:05:25 · answer #5 · answered by ToolmanTim 1 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Start a energy-smart fashion and paint your roof white. White reflects the heat. It made a big difference in the temperature inside the house and I didn't have to run the A/C so hard.
2006-08-07 11:44:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it will work by cooling the roof and attic which in turn will keep your house cooler as you wil not get as much heat penetrating into your home.
2006-08-07 05:06:24 · answer #7 · answered by herc_nav 1 · 6⤊ 0⤋
No, it doesn't do anything but waste water.
If you want to cool your house down, keep the lights off (if the lightbulbs are flourescent), you don't need them on when the sun is out.
Also open windows and, if possible, screened doors. In the evening have some fans in your windows that face outside so they blow all of the hot air out. And keep windows open all night.
I've learned this from experience. My house is not air conditioned and it can get up to 115 F outside during the summer. This keeps the temperature in your house around 80 degrees.
2006-08-06 18:27:01 · answer #8 · answered by kxaltli 4 · 0⤊ 8⤋
sounds like a good idea ... maybe just a little water at a time ,, and collect and route the "roof-runoff" into your garden ...
BTU's to evaporate H2O are BTU's that do NOT go into heating the mass of your house .... sounds reasonable
540 cal/gram ...
2006-08-08 14:35:26 · answer #9 · answered by atheistforthebirthofjesus 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I dont know about cooling your house, but it will help your shingles grow. It will also help you to avoid your neighbors because when they see the weirdo watering his roof they will avoid contact with you.
2006-08-06 18:28:19 · answer #10 · answered by Death 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
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2016-09-20 12:36:30 · answer #11 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋