Sebastian Pfautsch talks with Nikolai Beilharz from ABC Adelaide regarding the cost of dark roofs

If you’ve got a dark roof, you’re spending almost $700 extra a year to keep your house cool. From an article by The Conversation: theconversatio...
New housing estates in the hottest areas around Sydney and Melbourne are dominated by dark rooftops, black roads and minimal tree cover. Dark colours trap and hold heat rather than reflect it. That might be useful in winters in Tasmania, but not where heat is an issue.
A dark roof means you’ll pay considerably more to keep your house cool in summer. Last year, the average household in New South Wales paid A$1827 in electricity. But those with a lighter-coloured cool roof can pay up to $694 less due to lower cooling electricity needs. Put another way, a dark roof in Sydney drives up your power bill by 38%.
When suburbs are full of dark coloured roofs, the whole area heats up. And up. And up. This is part of the urban heat island effect. In January 2020, Penrith in Western Sydney was the hottest place on Earth.