Asphalt Shingles
Asphalt shingles are the most widely used roofing materials. That’s because these roof shingles are very inexpensive, versatile, easy to install, and can be purchased on any local home improvement shop.
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Asphalt shingles represent almost 80 percent of all roof shingles. The high rate of adoption shows that millions of households across the world are still using and are not planning to replace asphalt shingles as their primary roofing material.
In order to understand the reason why asphalt roof shingle is very popular, you may have to take a closer look at its properties and the benefits that you can enjoy from it.
A Closer Look at Asphalt Shingles
Asphalt roof shingles are basically made from two distinct raw materials along with the asphalt coating. The first type is made from organic materials. Usually, the organic substance is paper felt which is coated with asphalt. The other type uses a special mat made from fiberglass and asphalt coating. This is called fiberglass asphalt shingle.
In both types of asphalt roof shingles, the asphalt component is highly saturated in order to waterproof the finished tile. Another layer of adhesive asphalt is added and ceramic material is embedded into this layer thus forming the granulated look.
How to Choose the Suitable Asphalt Shingles for Your Home
Generally, asphalt roof shingles have granulated or rough surfaces. This special characteristic of the shingle can disperse light energy and heat. So you can save on your energy bill because the asphalt will deflect heat penetration.
But if you are living in an area that receives plenty of sunlight, it would be best if you can avoid buying dark colored asphalt shingles. Dark asphalt can absorb heat which can increase your energy consumption. This type of asphalt roof shingle is best for colder climates.
If you want asphalt roofing that can effectively disperse heat and has lower heat absorption quality, then you should choose lighter colored asphalt.
Asphalt roof shingle manufacturing is a very old industry. New trends however are emerging especially in the manufacture of wind resistant reinforced fiberglass asphalt shingles. These new variations of asphalt roofing are ideal for areas frequented by storms and hurricanes.