As cities heat up, reflective roofs could lower energy bills and help the climate. But dark-roofing manufacturers are waging a quiet campaign to block new rules
North America & Europe (temperate/cold climates)
Heating dominates. In the U.S., for example, space heating accounts for roughly 2–3× more total energy than cooling on an annual basis, especially in northern and central states. In Europe, cooling demand is tiny in comparison — many countries use almost no air conditioning outside southern regions.
Why heating dominates overall:
Large parts of North America and Europe have long winters.
Heating often uses high-energy fuels (natural gas, oil, electricity), so the energy content is higher even if cooling is more frequent in some places.
Cooling is mostly electric and can be efficient with modern A/C systems, so it consumes less energy per degree of temperature change compared to heating.
It’s just not true.
North America & Europe (temperate/cold climates) Heating dominates. In the U.S., for example, space heating accounts for roughly 2–3× more total energy than cooling on an annual basis, especially in northern and central states. In Europe, cooling demand is tiny in comparison — many countries use almost no air conditioning outside southern regions.
Why heating dominates overall:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00878-3
That’s not disproving what the article said. Heating can dominate while the impacts of white roofs are still beneficial.
For one, the sun is far more active in summer than winter, especially further up north.
That’s just complete bullshit. The sun’s activity doesn’t have anything to do with what the position of the earth is at any given time.