Do the colors in a home reduce or increase energy consumption? Absolutely! Consider this. On a hot, sunny day, isn't it cooler to wear white than to wear black? Try standing in the hot sun dressed in black. It is a scientific fact that white reflects radiant energy while black absorbs it.
Let's take this principle home. A dark roof will attract energy rays from the sun. The dark roof then becomes hot, so the house under it will be warmer.To prove this, a test was conducted in Texas resulting in the following statistics: a white roof had a temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, an aluminum-coated roof came in at 140 degrees and a black roof showed a scorching 190 degrees.
Granted, a well-ventilated attic with heavily insulated floor will stop much of the heat from going into the house, but most homes are not well enough insulated so that the heat doesn't have a significant effect.
Colors in the home also have an effect on energy savings or consumption. Same principle applies. Dark walls absorb more light and reflect less light, hence the need for more electricity to be used to see well in a dark-colored room. But if a color is preferred to a plain white wall, there is still a good solution. Most paint manufacturers will tell you the light reflectance value - or LVR - of any color paint chip. White reflects 80 percent of the light, while black reflects but 5 percent.
With those numbers as comparisons, you can see that the higher the LRV number of the paint color, the better the light reflection will be and the less artificial light will be needed.
Besides the actual LRV, color also has a physiological effect. Blues and greens are considered cool colors. Tests document that people in a room that is colored in these hues will estimate the temperature to be six to 10 degrees cooler than the actual temperature of the room. The opposite is true of warmer colors such as red or orange. In this type of room the temperature will feel six to 10 degrees warmer.
The best bet is to have a good combination of dark, or at least intense, colors with light, airy ones. If a dark wall is in order, surround it with light-colored furniture, a light ceiling and three other walls of lighter color. Use warm colors in a room that has little or no direct sunlight and cool colors in a room saturated with sun rays.