subject: Cool Roof Technology: Lighter Color Can Make Your Roof Cooler [print this page] Cool Roof Technology: Lighter Color Can Make Your Roof Cooler
Are you aware that if you have a dark colored roof, your home or building will be hotter? Why, because the darker its color, the harder it absorbs the heat of the sun. The lighter the color, the lesser it retains the sun's heat. Does this make your roof a "cool roof?" Not necessarily!
A cool roof reflects and emits the sun's heat back to the sky instead of transferring it to the building below. "Coolness" is measured by two properties, solar reflectance and thermal emittance. Both properties are measured from 0 to 1 and the higher the value, the "cooler" the roof. Cool roofs can be chosen from many assorted materials and colors. It is also based on the radiative properties of solar reflectance and thermal emittance by the roofing product. The cool roof must have a combined acceptable measurement of both its solar reflectance and thermal emittance. The Solar Reflectance index is an accurate tool in measuring the thermal properties of a roofing product.
Anaheim Hilton is making use of the cool roof technology with its bright white roof. The system enables the roof to reflect sunlight and making it cooler inside. The US government is also pushing for this technology to be implemented with the announcement of Energy Secretary Steven Chu. He is impressed with the substantial energy saving potential of this roofing system. In June, 2010, New York Mets players helped coat the rooftop of the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA with a cool reflective paint at the "Cool the Roof" project in Brooklyn, New York to create awareness and advocacy for the technology.
There is even a proposal to "cool roof" places in large scale. When you realize the temperature of a city of "hot roofs" and the billions of dollars for energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by power plants, you would really wish that the place be converted to a city of "cold roofs."
With the cool roof system, less air conditioning is needed, energy savings will result, less air pollution and when people are comfortable, they will be in a more pleasant mood. So be ready to convert your old roof into a cool roof. Begin to study the green certification programs such as LEED, Energy Star, Green Building Council and the Department of Energy Building Technology program's cool-roof criteria. The higher the solar reflectance and emissivity, the cooler your roof will be. There are other savings and payoffs from an investment in this roofing technology. So sit down with your architect or roofing contractor and begin planning!
