Metal Roofing and Cellular Reception of Wireless Phones
Metal roofing is becoming more increasingly popular with homeowners, because it has so many benefits. One common question that might be asked is this: “Does a new metal roof affect the cellular reception in my home?”
Cell phones have become an accessory that the majority of people in developed countries have deemed a necessity. However, bad connection service, poor voice quality, dropped calls, texts and emails that never send can be a challenge. And then there’s files with large sizes, such as videos or images, that can be extremely frustrating to deliver via cellular service. Unless you have good cellular reception, your smartphone is basically useless as a device for communication.
However, people tend to forget that they regularly use their cell phones under metal roofs without even noticing it. Many of the restaurants you eat at, the malls you shop at, and other businesses you regularly visit have metal roofs, and you don’t lose cell reception while inside. Your home environment, following the installation of a residential metal roof, should be no different.
What Causes a Poor Cellular Reception in Phones?
There are various factors that can affect the strength of cellular reception in your home, such as where your home is located. If it’s in a valley, its proximity to a utility tower, weather conditions, as well as which cellular service provider you use (i.e. Sprint, Verizon, etc.).
There are two ways that are most common for poor cellular service coverage, including the following:
First, is localized poor coverage, where you can get better signal by moving to another room or going outside. This kind of bad reception can be attributed to particular building materials, or some other local interference, and can often be fixed.
Second, Poor coverage due to geography. This is where residents of the entire community or region have a weak signal. This kind of bad reception is because you’re just too far away from a tower, and in this case, you’ll have cellular reception issues regardless if you have a metal or asphalt shingled roof.
With such strong networks today, if you’re near a city or in a municipality (non-rural) area, the cause of a poor reception signal is far more likely to be localized rather than geographical.
There are two main reasons for localized poor cellular reception coverage, including: Interference from the buildings or landscape around your home. If there’s something blocking a direct line of sight to the closest cellular tower – trees, buildings, or hills, for example, the signal will need to deflect off something before it can be received by the tower. In this case, you’ll typically experience a signal that fluctuates.
Secondly, the type of materials that were used to construct your home. Common building materials like brick, metal, wood, and energy saving window coatings can block or weaken the incoming signal. You’ll discover this when you have perfect signal outside your home and lose signal once inside.
A metal roof is just one of many building materials that may contribute to weaker cellular reception. If your reception inside your home is much worse than outside your home, it is a cumulative effect of all materials used; not any one in particular. Solving this problem can sometimes be easily done by making sure you’re near a window or not in the basement.
If you currently have poor cellular reception, and you really want the absolute beauty of a metal roof, do not worry. There is always a way to find a solution.
Contact the team at All American Steel today, or visit our panel displays at All American Do it Center stores in Tomah, Sparta or Richland Center Wisconsin.
