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I live in an area where temperatures often reach 95°F (35°C). I have attic fans and soffet vents and radiant barrier. Is it worth adding a roof sprinkler? I have read about it working wonders for attic temperatures. I have a well, so plenty of water...

I have also heard that high temperatures reduce the lifespan of shingles--but water probably does too. I don't know which is worse for shingles: water or heat.

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    Related: diy.stackexchange.com/questions/847/…
    – Niall C.
    Jun 3, 2013 at 14:08
  • I'm not asking if it cools, I'm asking if its worth it.
    – Dale
    Jun 3, 2013 at 14:29
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    @JoeHobbit isn't "is it worth it?" entirely dependent on if it actually works?
    – DA01
    Jun 3, 2013 at 16:24
  • @DA01 Not entirely. As I mentioned in the question it may or may not adversely affect the shingles...
    – Dale
    Jun 3, 2013 at 19:42

1 Answer 1

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Before I remodeled my house to have vents and radiant barriers and lots of insulation, I did put a water misting system on my roof using PVC pipes and drip mist emitters. The mist emitter was helpful because it broke up the water into a fine mist and sent it into the air, giving me evaporative cooling before the water even touched the roof. Also I had some of the emitters overhang the roof to give some cooling to the side of the house.

It all did the job as expected and the areas where the water mist existed received a great deal of cooling.

However after running the system for the summer, I saw a lot of roof shingle granules in the rain gutters.

The continual flow of water, even though I limited the flow so that most of it evaporated, caused about 10 years worth of wear on my roof shingles. Not a problem for me, I tore the whole house down the next year and built a brand new house. With modern insulation (I did upgrade the attic insulation to beyond code requirements), I almost never even need to use the new AC.

Here is the emitter: http://www.orbitonline.com/products/Sprinklers/03/13/19/934/

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  • Sounds like it's a good idea, if you want to replace the roof every 3 years or so.
    – Tester101
    Jun 3, 2013 at 16:45
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    I wonder how much it depends on the type of shingles. Perhaps it might work better on metal roofs?
    – Dale
    Jun 3, 2013 at 19:45

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