Dark or Light Shingles in Sioux Falls: Does the Color Matter?

Pick the color you like. In Sioux Falls, shingle color makes a small difference to energy bills either way, and it has no proven link to ice dams.

What color does change is how hot the attic gets in July, how much algae streaking shows, and whether your homeowners association signs off.

Do dark shingles help heat a house in a Sioux Falls winter?

Only a little, and less than most people expect. The Department of Energy says a reflective roof may raise winter heating needs by bouncing away sunlight that would have warmed the building, so a dark roof does the opposite. The effect is small.

Here is why. Sioux Falls averages 7,248 heating degree days a year against 847 cooling degree days (NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals). Winter is the season that matters. But a January day here averages a high of 27.2 F, the sun sits low, and from December through March the roof spends weeks under snow. Snow is white whatever color is underneath it.

Research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory modeled roofs across the country and found the winter heating penalty from a light roof in cold climates was small. A Concordia University study added snow to the model and the penalty shrank further. Both looked mostly at commercial buildings, and we found no measured study of shingle color and heating bills on a cold-climate house with a vented attic.

On most Sioux Falls houses, a layer of attic insulation sits between the shingles and your living room. That insulation does far more for the gas bill than the color above it.

Will light shingles keep the house cooler in summer?

Yes, a bit, but summer here is short. Sioux Falls averages 15 days a year at 90 F or above, and the July average high is 85.3 F.

The best measured comparison comes from Florida, which is a long way from here. In July 2000 the Florida Solar Energy Center monitored side-by-side homes in Fort Myers. The attic under dark gray shingles peaked at 135.6 F. Under white shingles it peaked at 123.5 F. The report gives the cooling savings as anything from 3% to about 10%, depending on which table you read.

ENERGY STAR says cool roofs save the most in hot, sunny places and on buildings with little roof insulation. Neither describes a well-insulated Sioux Falls house, so expect a smaller effect here.

Do dark shingles melt snow faster and stop ice dams?

No source we found ties shingle color to ice dams. Ice dams start with heat leaking up from the house into the attic, which melts the snow from below. NDSU Extension calls that heat loss a major cause of the snowmelt behind ice dams.

So the fix sits under the roof: seal the gaps around lights, pipes and the attic hatch, then add insulation and keep the vents clear. That work comes first whatever color you choose. Our page on how to stop ice dams in Sioux Falls walks through it, and the city requires an ice barrier along the eaves on a new roof regardless of color.

Does shingle color change how hot the attic gets?

It does, on sunny summer afternoons. The Florida study measured a 12 F gap at the attic’s peak between dark gray and white shingles, and the dark shingles reflected only 8.2% of sunlight against 24.0% for the white ones.

Attic heat matters most if your ducts or air handler sit up there. Good intake and exhaust vents carry that heat away whatever the color, and our guide to attic ventilation and insulation in Sioux Falls covers what a balanced attic needs.

We found no source showing that shingle color changes how long the shingles last here. Ask the manufacturer for that model’s warranty terms before you choose.

Which color hides algae streaks better?

Dark shingles hide them better. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association says algae is most readily visible on light-colored roofs, where its dark pigment shows up as black or brown streaks. The same streaks on a charcoal roof are hard to spot from the street.

If you want a light roof, ask for an algae-resistant shingle. Major shingle lines carry algae warranties of 10 to 30 years, covering blue-green algae only. Never power wash a shingle roof to clean streaks; ARMA warns against it and against brushing. Our article on black streaks and moss on a Sioux Falls roof covers cleaning.

Does roof color affect resale or HOA approval?

We found no study showing that roof color changes what a house sells for, here or anywhere. Pick something that suits the siding and the street.

An HOA is a firmer limit. Many subdivisions have covenants that set allowed roof colors or require approval before work starts. Read your covenants, or ask the HOA board, before the shingles are ordered. A contractor cannot change that rule for you.

So what does color change in Sioux Falls?

Less than the sales talk suggests. Here is the short version.

Color also has no bearing on hail. Impact rating does, and our guide to shingles for Sioux Falls roofs explains Class 3 and Class 4.

Questions about shingle color

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