COLORBOND’s® New 2023 Range of Colours

In August of 2022, COLORBOND® officially launched a new Colorbond Colour Range at their Compass virtual event. The four new colours—Dover White, Southerly, Bluegum, and Wollemi—were the fruit of an in-depth process undertaken by BlueScope to bring a fresh take to the company’s longstanding tradition of drawing inspiration from the unique beauty of the Australian landscape.

Antony Schillaci, Marketing Manager at BlueScope, expressed the company’s excitement at the new colour range’s potential to “inform the design of our Australian streetscapes, communities and our built environments.”

At Vivify Roofing, we’ve been working with COLORBOND® for years. We can attest to the fact that their products do more than just bring aesthetic appeal to the homes and businesses of Australia. They offer much needed protection to structures against heat, cold, wind and anything else the Australian climate can throw at a building.

Our roofing team is very excited by the potential that the new colour range brings to our customers. We want to show you just what this announcement from COLORBOND® means for the roofing industry, so let’s start with a closer look at each of the new colours.

Dover White

Dover White promises “timeless elegance” with a bright tone inspired by sandy dunes, mountain snow, and the bark of the ghost gum tree. This shade has a lot of versatility, contrasting effectively with dark colours but also working well to hold a tonal scheme together. Furthermore, Dover White melds perfectly into traditional or contemporary designs. It truly is timeless.

Uses: Roofing, walling, gutters, fascia, garage doors.

 

 

Southerly

The cool grey of Southerly COLORBOND® steel draws inspiration from coast lines and rolling hills. Its vibrant tones promise “cool change” by bringing concrete, brick and timber to life when used for contrast or detail. Overall, Southerly is a tasteful, stylish colour with a wide range of applications for homes and businesses.

Uses: Roofing, walling, garage doors.

 

 

Bluegum

Mist rising at the dawn of a new day. A cool breeze blowing in from the distant horizon. These are the scenes that the tempered greys of Bluegum bring to both country and urban construction. Bluegum is a middle tone. Versatile and stylish, it meshes especially well with natural stone and darker wood.

Uses: Roofing, walling, fencing, sheds.

 

 

Wollemi

Unlike the other three new releases, Wollemi is intended strictly for use in fencing. It adds a backdrop to your home reminiscent of deep valleys and remote woodlands. It is a lively blueish green, at once both nurturing and enlightened. In contemporary urban settings, Wollemi will stand out as a taste of nature. In country settings, it will fade naturally into the existing plantlife.

Uses: Fencing

 

 

 

Cool Roof Applications For New Colorbond Colour Range 2022

One issue that Australian roofing experts are always aware of is keeping your roof cool. A cool roof means a cool home. So it’s important to consider the nominal thermal values of any roofing material in order to find the best choice for your specific environment.

As with all COLORBOND® steel roofing finishes, BlueScope has released thermal values for their new 2022 colours as well:

Dover White

• Solar Absorptance: 0.28
• Solar Reflectance Index: 88

Southerly

• Solar Absorptance: 0.40
• Solar Reflectance Index: 71

Bluegum

• Solar Absorptance: 0.57
• Solar Reflectance Index: 48

Let’s look at what these values mean for you:

Solar Absorbtance ranges from 0 to 1 and measures how much solar radiation a material will absorb. It is expressed as ratio, so a roof with 0.57 solar absorptance will absorb 57% of the solar heat that it is exposed to. Obviously, this means that low absorptance scores are better at keeping your house cool in the hotter months.

Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) is a bit more complicated because it is a value calculated based on your roofing’s solar absorptance and emittance. SRI effectively tells you how good your roof is at returning energy from the sun back into the atmosphere. Although there are some exceptions, SRI typically falls between 0 and 100, with higher values making for cooler roofs.

 

 

What Nominal Thermal Values Mean For You

To sum it up, you want a roof with low absorptance and a high reflectance index—assuming you are looking for a roof to keep your home cool in the summer.

As you can see from the values for the new colours above, Dover White by COLORBOND® scores very well. This is an ideal roof colour for homes in hot climates with little to no natural shade. Southerly will perform well too, though it won’t be able to stand up to the heat quite as well.

Bluegum may be better reserved for homes that receive a good deal of shade. Of course, most colours can work well for a roof. Colours that reflect solar heat are just going to reduce your reliance on air conditioning to keep your home cool.

Related: Does Heat Reflective Roof Paint Work?

 

 

 

Why Did COLORBOND® Update Their Palette?

You might wonder why, after almost 50 years on the market, COLORBOND® decided to refresh their palette now. Well, the reason that they have been a trusted brand for designers, builders, home owners and architects is because of their commitment to quality. As such, part of COLORBOND’s® standard operating procedures includes regular review of their product lines.

In this case, the company collaborated with customers, consultants and other stakeholders because they noticed changes in the industry and the way COLORBOND® steel was being used. 

From this research process, a fresh colour palette was born—a modern evolution to the timeless story that COLORBOND® tells across the cities, suburbs and rural landscapes of Australia.

Retired COLORBOND® Colours

It’s only natural that shades and tones come in and out of style. Likewise, as new colours are added to a palette, some must be removed in order to ensure continuity and eliminate overlap.

Therefore, as part of COLORBOND’s® update, the following colours have been removed: Cove, Mangrove, and Terrain. 

If for some reason you are interested in these colours, you should know that they are no longer being manufactured. They would only be available from remaining stock, so they may be difficult or impossible to come by.

Is it possible that some paint providers can tint paint to a retired Colorbond colour. It’s quite a standard practice in the industry. When deciding on your chosen trade and reviewing quote information, be sure to check out our guide on Roof Restorations Melbourne for hints and tips.

 

What Do These New Colorbond Colour Range Mean For You?

The addition of Dover White, Southerly, Bluegum, and Wollemi have exciting implications for all of our customers. Simply put, you now have access to the latest COLORBOND® roof colours on the market—a fresh palette inspired by Australia itself.

The professionals at Vivify Roofing have studied these new colours closely. We have examined how they work into existing colour schemes and explored the groundbreaking new possibilities they bring to your next project.

If you want to learn more about how to incorporate the 2022 colour range from COLORBOND® into your residential or commercial roofing, contact us today!