Data supporting reductions in cooling load and related demand for electric power possible from increasing building surface albedo are limited. Electrical use of wall-mounted air conditioners, roof temperatures, and related environmental factors were monitored during the summer of 1990 on three initially identical 1/4-scale model buildings situated in rock mulch landscapes in Tucson, Arizona. Model thermodynamic properties were scaled to approximate thermodynamic similarity with full-size buildings. With ceiling insulation of R value 5.28 m(2) K W-1 (R-30) installed, increasing roof albedo of the gray composition shingles (0.30 albedo, 0.94 emissivity) by painting one roof silver and another white (0.49 and 0.75 albedos, 0.70 and 0.98 emissivities, respectively) reduced daily total and hourly peak electrical use for air conditioning approximately 5% for the house with white-colored roof compared to either gray or silver-colored roofs. Larger differences were found without ceiling insulation, with daily total and peak hourly demand for houses with white compared to dark brown roofing (0.9 albedo, 0.98 emissivity) reduced 28 and 18%, respectively. Computer simulations of daily total energy use confirmed comparable savings for similar full-sized buildings. White roofs were 20 to 30 degrees C cooler than either silver or dark-colored roofs on hot, sunny days, indicating that expected cooling due to an increase in albedo may not be realized if it is accompanied by a decrease in emissivity. Light-colored roofs, by maintaining cooler attic temperatures, may provide savings in addition to those presented here by reducing heat gain to air distribution systems located in the attic space.