Since moving into her new home in Campbelltown with a black roof and no insulation, Deborah Clark took it upon herself to combat the soaring indoor temperatures during the summer months. She invested in planting trees, lining her home with pot plants, setting up air conditioning, and installing vents on the roof to address the heat build-up. Additionally, she took part in a study measuring household heat in Western Sydney, where it was discovered that dark roofs significantly increased roof cavity temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Celsius.
The study by the Western Sydney Sweltering Cities group found that homes with dark roofs recorded much higher temperatures in their roof cavities compared to homes with lighter roofs on the same day. The issue of dark roofs leading to higher cooling costs and difficulties in maintaining indoor temperatures was highlighted, with a suggestion to ban black roofs on new homes to mitigate the impact. Although the NSW government introduced new standards effectively banning dark roofs in new builds, existing homeowners like Deborah Clark face the challenge of changing their roof colors to combat excessive heat, especially in areas lacking adequate tree canopy to reduce the urban heat island effect.