I just saw this article about LA being the first major city that has passed an ordinance stating that all new & existing homes have "cool" roofs installed. I cannot find anything on just what the "cool roof" is supposed to be made of, is it just a light colored shingle (good for us, as they show the stains faster?) Does anyone have some answers?
Art O said
Mar 3, 2014
Cool Roofs and Title 24
Cool roofs are highly reflective, highly emissive roofing materials that stay 50 to 60 degrees F cooler than a normal roof under a hot summer sun.
Cool roofs can cut building owners' energy costs. Because cool roofs gain less heat than normal roofs, they reduce the need for air conditioning making buildings more comfortable to the people inside.
Cool roofs have other benefits, too. For building owners they can cut maintenance costs and increase the life expectancy of the roof. And for society in general, cool roofs can even help to reduce the urban heat island effect that makes our cities hotter and produces unhealthy air.
Because cool roofs save both money and energy, in October 2005 they became part of the prescriptive requirements of California's energy code, the Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. Most cool roof materials for low-sloped roofs are white or another light color. Because steep-sloped roofs are often visible from the ground, however, roofing material manufacturers have developed popular roof colors other than white that will still reflect or emit the sun's energy away from the building.
Sample Form - Commercial Reroofs (Generic Sample Form) Sample Form - Commercial Reroofs (City of Vacaville)
Cool Roof Rating Council
The Cool Roof Rating Council is an independent organization that lists the solar reflectance and thermal emittance specifications for many roofing products. CRRC is a valuable resource for building officials; energy service providers; architects and specifiers; property owners and community planners - anyone seeking to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings.
A calculator is now available to quickly determine the energy-equivalent R-value of insulation needed to meet title 24 requirements if a building owner chooses to install a non-cool roof during a reproofing project.
Developed by the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) in conjunction with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Energy Commission, the calculator takes into account the level of existing insulation, the climate zone, and several other factors that determine the proper R-value of required insulation.
Cali's Title 24 has been in effect for many years on the commercial roofing side. All material we used to ship there from GAF had to meet an SRI (Solar Reflective Index) minimum of 86. This basically meant a white roof ONLY. The CRRC (Cool Roof Rating Council) are huge proponents of this, because they are mostly made up of roof coating manufacturers. It is a nice concept, but will take a while to get all over. The first major city on the East Coast that might adopt something similar is Atlanta. They actually have a larger urban Island footprint than NYC. I was in Las Vegas a coupe weeks ago at the International Roofing Expo (NRCA event) and coatings and white roofs are still at the forefront of the roof market. Also, Certaintieed was promoting their 15 year Algae free shingle. They basically took the Atlas & GAF AR (Algae Resistant) warranty and added another five years. The shingle costs about 35% more than the regular shingles.
I just saw this article about LA being the first major city that has passed an ordinance stating that all new & existing homes have "cool" roofs installed. I cannot find anything on just what the "cool roof" is supposed to be made of, is it just a light colored shingle (good for us, as they show the stains faster?) Does anyone have some answers?
Cool Roofs and Title 24
Cool roofs can cut building owners' energy costs. Because cool roofs gain less heat than normal roofs, they reduce the need for air conditioning making buildings more comfortable to the people inside.
Cool roofs have other benefits, too. For building owners they can cut maintenance costs and increase the life expectancy of the roof. And for society in general, cool roofs can even help to reduce the urban heat island effect that makes our cities hotter and produces unhealthy air.
Because cool roofs save both money and energy, in October 2005 they became part of the prescriptive requirements of California's energy code, the Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. Most cool roof materials for low-sloped roofs are white or another light color. Because steep-sloped roofs are often visible from the ground, however, roofing material manufacturers have developed popular roof colors other than white that will still reflect or emit the sun's energy away from the building.
Cool Roof Resources
Cool Roof Training Videos
Cool Roof Regulations Excerpts - 2005 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Acrobat file, 152 kb)
Blueprint # 83, Q&A on Cool Roofs (Acrobat file, 1.4 mb)
Blueprint # 86, Cool Roof Update (Acrobat file, 1.7 mb)
Commercial Reroofing
Steps to Help Decide if a Cool Roof is Right for You (Acrobat file)
Sample Form - Commercial Reroofs (City of Vacaville)
Cool Roof Rating Council
The Cool Roof Rating Council is an independent organization that lists the solar reflectance and thermal emittance specifications for many roofing products. CRRC is a valuable resource for building officials; energy service providers; architects and specifiers; property owners and community planners - anyone seeking to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings.Web-based R-value Calculator for Reroofs
A calculator is now available to quickly determine the energy-equivalent R-value of insulation needed to meet title 24 requirements if a building owner chooses to install a non-cool roof during a reproofing project.
Developed by the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) in conjunction with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Energy Commission, the calculator takes into account the level of existing insulation, the climate zone, and several other factors that determine the proper R-value of required insulation.
Incentives
Find financial incentives offered by your local utility using the search tool at:
www.fypower.org/res/tools/rgl.htmlAdditional Sources for More Information
Consumer Energy Center Cool Roofs FAQ Page
Cali's Title 24 has been in effect for many years on the commercial roofing side. All material we used to ship there from GAF had to meet an SRI (Solar Reflective Index) minimum of 86. This basically meant a white roof ONLY. The CRRC (Cool Roof Rating Council) are huge proponents of this, because they are mostly made up of roof coating manufacturers. It is a nice concept, but will take a while to get all over. The first major city on the East Coast that might adopt something similar is Atlanta. They actually have a larger urban Island footprint than NYC. I was in Las Vegas a coupe weeks ago at the International Roofing Expo (NRCA event) and coatings and white roofs are still at the forefront of the roof market. Also, Certaintieed was promoting their 15 year Algae free shingle. They basically took the Atlas & GAF AR (Algae Resistant) warranty and added another five years. The shingle costs about 35% more than the regular shingles.