Vote for The Most Ugly Roof Award 2010 from our top 10 finalist.
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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Picking A Cool Roof: SRI Index Is Key
Most roofing industry experts agree that a cool roof is one that exhibits a combination of high reflectivity and high emissivity. But the questions have always been how high is high and what combination of the two yields the most benefit?
One way to make a decision is to use the Solar Roof Index (SRI) to evaluate a cool roof. The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED 2.2 uses SRI as a way to evaluate a cool roof. LEED version 2.2 is the first national specification to use a relatively new measure of reporting a cool roof’s properties. LEED 2.2 sustainable sites credit 7.2 states that to receive one point, building owners should use a roof with a Solar Reflective Index (SRI) of 78 over at least 75 percent of the roof’s surface for roofs with slopes less than 2:12.
SRI is a unit developed by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. SRI incorporates reflectivity and emissivity properties into one, easy-to-read, standardized measure so that roof buyers won’t have to scratch their heads and try to figure out if a high reflectivity and low emissivity is better or worse than a medium reflectivity and high emissivity.
SRI is calculated with a complex formula spelled out in ASTM E 1980 and is a scale of 1 to 100 that is a measure of a roof’s combined thermal properties. It is defined so that a standard black (reflectance 0.05, emittance 0.90) is 0 and a standard white (reflectance 0.80, emittance 0.90) is 100. But some hot roofs can have negative values, and some white thermoplastics and white roof coatings have scored as high as 104 to 110. SRI as a method for reporting cool roof data will probably take a little while to catch on. Most manufacturers still report separate emissivity and reflectivity data in their literature, but the Cool Roof Rating Council, an organization that verifies and labels cool roofing products has begun using the measure, while retaining reflectivity and emissivity measurements.
Different roofing technologies have different SRI values. Asphalt coatings for example have aluminum pigments added to asphalt cutbacks and emulsions to give coatings solar reflectance index (SRI) values of 21-30 on a scale of 0-100.
Acrylic elastometers on the other hand, a new-generation coatings, have a highly reflective surface, often with an SRI greater than 100. Most highly reflective acrylic elastomers are white, and workers can install them over existing bituminous or non-bituminous roofing. Acrylic elastomers typically are specified at 12 mils for five-year warranties and at 20 mils for 10-year warranties. Some manufacturers specify up to 40 mil applications.
One way to make a decision is to use the Solar Roof Index (SRI) to evaluate a cool roof. The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED 2.2 uses SRI as a way to evaluate a cool roof. LEED version 2.2 is the first national specification to use a relatively new measure of reporting a cool roof’s properties. LEED 2.2 sustainable sites credit 7.2 states that to receive one point, building owners should use a roof with a Solar Reflective Index (SRI) of 78 over at least 75 percent of the roof’s surface for roofs with slopes less than 2:12.
SRI is a unit developed by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. SRI incorporates reflectivity and emissivity properties into one, easy-to-read, standardized measure so that roof buyers won’t have to scratch their heads and try to figure out if a high reflectivity and low emissivity is better or worse than a medium reflectivity and high emissivity.
SRI is calculated with a complex formula spelled out in ASTM E 1980 and is a scale of 1 to 100 that is a measure of a roof’s combined thermal properties. It is defined so that a standard black (reflectance 0.05, emittance 0.90) is 0 and a standard white (reflectance 0.80, emittance 0.90) is 100. But some hot roofs can have negative values, and some white thermoplastics and white roof coatings have scored as high as 104 to 110. SRI as a method for reporting cool roof data will probably take a little while to catch on. Most manufacturers still report separate emissivity and reflectivity data in their literature, but the Cool Roof Rating Council, an organization that verifies and labels cool roofing products has begun using the measure, while retaining reflectivity and emissivity measurements.
Different roofing technologies have different SRI values. Asphalt coatings for example have aluminum pigments added to asphalt cutbacks and emulsions to give coatings solar reflectance index (SRI) values of 21-30 on a scale of 0-100.
Acrylic elastometers on the other hand, a new-generation coatings, have a highly reflective surface, often with an SRI greater than 100. Most highly reflective acrylic elastomers are white, and workers can install them over existing bituminous or non-bituminous roofing. Acrylic elastomers typically are specified at 12 mils for five-year warranties and at 20 mils for 10-year warranties. Some manufacturers specify up to 40 mil applications.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Explained: Cool Roofing System Rebates
Getting Started
As hard as you might try, it’s just not possible to ignore a roof. In the long run, the roof will always make its presence felt, sometimes in very inconvenient ways- just ask the hospital that had its surgical suite damaged by a leaky roof.
It can be hard to win capital dollars for roofing even in the best of times (that hospital roof failed during a much stronger economy). But roofs in sad shape simply cannot be ignored. If a roof is already a candidate for replacement, re-covering or re-coating, savvy facility executives should go the extra mile and consider cool roofing options.
There are plenty of reasons why. For one thing, some utility providers offer incentives to spur users into purchasing cool roofing systems. A roof that’s both reflective and emissive can provide a range of benefits for the entire organization. A cool roof can significantly cut heating and cooling loads. It can also act as a shot in the arm for public relations efforts.
Finding Help
When it comes to justifying cool roofs in a today's tough economy, rebates from gas and electric utilities are among the surest bets. Generally speaking, the utilities pay back a certain percentage -usually about $.20 on the dollar — after installation and documentation. “Utilities are looking for ways that they can reduce capacity,” says William Kirn, chairman of the technical committee of the Cool Roof Rating Council. “It’s a form of demand-side management, since cool roofing has been shown to push back peak-demand energy use.” A tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available to owners or designers of new or existing commercial buildings that save at least 50% of the heating and cooling energy of a building that meets ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. Deductions up to $.60 per square foot can be taken for measures that meet the criteria for any one of three building system: the building envelope, lighting, or heating and cooling systems. These tax deductions are available for systems “placed in service” from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2013.
Finally, there may be financial incentives to facilities that are voluntarily built to the rating systems for green or sustainable building systems — such as Green Globes or the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
On your next project, consider the 'cool roof' option. Discover more by visiting www.ramconroofing.com
As hard as you might try, it’s just not possible to ignore a roof. In the long run, the roof will always make its presence felt, sometimes in very inconvenient ways- just ask the hospital that had its surgical suite damaged by a leaky roof.
It can be hard to win capital dollars for roofing even in the best of times (that hospital roof failed during a much stronger economy). But roofs in sad shape simply cannot be ignored. If a roof is already a candidate for replacement, re-covering or re-coating, savvy facility executives should go the extra mile and consider cool roofing options.
There are plenty of reasons why. For one thing, some utility providers offer incentives to spur users into purchasing cool roofing systems. A roof that’s both reflective and emissive can provide a range of benefits for the entire organization. A cool roof can significantly cut heating and cooling loads. It can also act as a shot in the arm for public relations efforts.
Finding Help
When it comes to justifying cool roofs in a today's tough economy, rebates from gas and electric utilities are among the surest bets. Generally speaking, the utilities pay back a certain percentage -usually about $.20 on the dollar — after installation and documentation. “Utilities are looking for ways that they can reduce capacity,” says William Kirn, chairman of the technical committee of the Cool Roof Rating Council. “It’s a form of demand-side management, since cool roofing has been shown to push back peak-demand energy use.” A tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available to owners or designers of new or existing commercial buildings that save at least 50% of the heating and cooling energy of a building that meets ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. Deductions up to $.60 per square foot can be taken for measures that meet the criteria for any one of three building system: the building envelope, lighting, or heating and cooling systems. These tax deductions are available for systems “placed in service” from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2013.
Finally, there may be financial incentives to facilities that are voluntarily built to the rating systems for green or sustainable building systems — such as Green Globes or the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
On your next project, consider the 'cool roof' option. Discover more by visiting www.ramconroofing.com
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