Why Do The Houses In Bermuda Have White Roofs

These terraced limestone roofs have a very important purpose namely to collect the island s water supply.

Why do the houses in bermuda have white roofs.

1 as a way to keep the inside of the house cool in our very hot summers. When you pull into the royal navy dockyard you ll be treated to hills filled with the white roofs of bermuda. The buildings were originally quite plain due to the brittleness of limestone and lingering puritanical asceticism. By harry low bbc news.

They re not just for show. As a result bermuda s roofs have evolved over four centuries to do two things. Protect houses against gale force winds and funnel whatever the heavens rain down into large cisterns that feed household taps. Commonly referred to as cool roofing it has received a stamp of approval from the state of california which has adopted its use in its building codes.

Along with the gorgeous shoreline one of the first things you ll notice as you fly into bermuda are the brilliant white rooftops. Drinking water has been a concern ever since human habitation began in bermuda in the 1600s. We have white roofs for 2 main reasons. Why houses in bermuda have white stepped roofs.

The earliest roofing was made of palmetto thatch but partially from encouragement from the colonial government stone shingles slowly came to be preferred. Roofs with a purpose. Bermuda is set upon porous limestone and wells often yielded brackish or salt water. Did you also know that these white roofs have a beneficial environmental impact.

The secret is in the design of their houses and particularly the white stepped roof which is still in use 400 years after it was first introduced. By law every house must collect 80 percent of the water that falls on its roof. Professor henrietta moore ucl institute for global prosperity comments on how white stepped roofs in bermuda are designed to harvest rain. 2 when it rains we have pipes that connect from the roof top and run down into an underground tank.

A british visitor to bermuda will feel instantly at home even if the weather is far warmer and sunnier than anything imaginable on the british isles. By 1687 only 29 of the 579 houses in bermuda had been upgraded to stone and only 63 were shingled. Green building council and has been mandated by government officials in chicago. Why houses in bermuda have white stepped roofs ucl news ucl university college london.

Just like the blue and white houses in santorini you re hit with a certain aesthetic feel but did you know that the scarcity of fresh water has made them a necessity. For each square foot of roof space all houses must have eight gallons of tank space. White or reflective roofs have been in use for the past 15 years.