Differences Between Colors of Roofing Shingles

White

• Black in the summer means feeling hot, so people turn to white, which reflects heat away. This natural reflectivity sets white apart from darker shades, also making white a good energy-saving choice. This consideration actually makes white "green" -- that is, the best choice for the environment. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has pointed out that hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved annually if most roofs in the United States were white, while simultaneously reducing global carbon emissions.

Black

• More than any other color, black absorbs heat. So much so, in fact, that it is one of the culprits behind the urban heat island effect, whereby temperatures in high-density areas are 3 to 8 degrees higher than surrounding areas, according to Duro-Last Roofing. The heat absorption makes cooling black-topped homes costly compared to other colors. Black shingles, do however, hide grime. Coupled with black's compatibility with any building color, black shingles remain desirable, especially to homeowners.

Color-Shifting

• Color-shifting shingles are in development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A sort of yin-and-yang of shingles, this roofing material is white when it's hot, changing to black when it's cool. This dual ability is unique among shingle colors, and captures the abilities of both white and black respectively in repelling and absorbing heat. A release from MIT shows that 30 percent of heat was reflected in 2009 testing when the shingles are black, a whopping 80 percent when they're white, saving as much as 20 percent of cooling costs.

Colored

• Chosen properly, colored shingles can boost the aesthetic value of a building more than either white or black. The ability to make harmonious color choices makes colored shingles attractive. For buyers choosing light colors, there are heat reflectivity benefits, for the closer a shingle is to white, the more heat it reflects. Some manufacturers coat their colored shingles so they reflect heat better, regardless of the shade.

Natural Colors

• Going natural in shingles -- that is, using natural materials such as wood or metal -- provides color that looks and feels organic and "true." The aesthetics of brown wood shingles, for instance, can evoke a sense of being homey or rustic. In the right landscape, these shingles make a building seem as if it belongs. Going with copper, meanwhile, can create a sense that a building--and its occupants--are well-established and there to stay, once the copper assumes a green patina. There are treatments to hasten the chemical processes that change the color of copper to green.