Choosing cool roofing from the outset
There are many reasons for architects and specifiers to consider incorporating cool roofing into their plans from the beginning. For one, people are moving less. Deep changes in the economy and housing market, growing post-college debt, and the availability of telecommuting options are encouraging potential homebuyers, especially millennials, to stay put longer.
Additionally, older Americans are living longer and often choosing to age in place rather than downsize or move into retirement communities. When people do buy, they are often looking for a ‘forever home’ and materials that are both long-lasting and capable of saving money over time. Cool roofing is a huge potential growth area in retrofit construction and a valuable savings tool to attract buyers to new construction.
As mentioned earlier, the key benefit of cool roofs is lower summer utility bills. Less demand for cooling could enable owners of large buildings and complexes to decrease the size of the air-conditioning units. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Urban Heat Island Group, retrofitting 80 percent of commercial buildings in the U.S. with cool roofs would yield $735 million (15 percent) in annual energy cost savings. Additionally, homeowners can increase the lifespan of existing air-conditioning systems by lowering the demand placed on each unit.
There are also public benefits to cool roofs, such as improved grid stability, reduced GHG emissions, and fewer heat wave-associated public health risks. Reduced air-conditioning lowers peak electrical demand and use, decreasing the likelihood of brownouts and blackouts during heat waves. Lowering energy use also reduces the amount of power plant emissions in the atmosphere. Philadelphia’s senior-focused Cool Homes Pilot Project found reducing the urban heat island effect and lowering temperatures, particularly in the top floors of buildings, can improve a person’s ability to regulate body temperature and to avoid heat stroke. The ambient temperatures around cities employing cool roofing materials tend to be lower. Moreover, as vehicles require less air-conditioning and gasoline, smog decreases and public health improves.
There are some arguments cool roofing is not always the best choice for extremely cold climates. The winter months bring fewer hours of sunlight, and since cool roofing causes the sun’s natural heat to deflect off the roof rather than be absorbed, this may moderately increase the heating costs. However, with more communities being impacted by climate change, one can argue winter is becoming more elusive, and architects and specifiers should prepare for futures with higher temperatures. In addition to ceiling fans, shaded windows, and proper insulation, cool roofs can have an impact on homes and businesses as well as the communities around them.
Amanda Boyer oversees product management for CertainTeed’s West Coast operations, fully supporting sales teams and manufacturing plants in the region. She joined CertainTeed in 2014 and has served in various roles supporting the roofing supply chain, including serving as a former production planner for three manufacturing plants. Boyer has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Millersville University, and a master’s degree in political science from East Stroudsburg University.
Amanda might have mentioned that green vegetative roofs are significantly cooler than reflective roofs that merely reflect heat back up into the atmosphere. In fact, vegetated roof surfaces are typical several degrees cooler than ambient temperatures due to the plants transpiration cooling affects.
This reduction in the urban heat islands from roof surfaces is only one of dozens of green roof benefits most importantly including storm water management and reduction in carbon dioxide emmissions.