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One of the simpler and less intrusive ways to achieve industrial sustainability may be to use cool roofs.
Making the roof “cool” is as easy as painting on a layer of white paint to reflect light and heat instead of absorbing it into the building. When replacing or re-laying the roof, the use of improved reflective roof coatings instead of traditional roofing materials can reduce air conditioning costs and greatly reduce energy use.
If you start from scratch and build a building from scratch, installing a cool roof is a good first step; in most cases, there is no additional cost compared to traditional roofs.
“The’cold roof’ is one of the fastest and lowest cost ways for us to reduce global carbon emissions and begin our efforts to mitigate climate change,” said Steven Zhu, the former US Secretary of Energy.
Having a cool roof not only improves durability, but also reduces the accumulation of cooling load and the “urban heat island effect”. In this case, the city is much warmer than the surrounding rural areas. Some buildings are also exploring green roofs to make urban areas more sustainable.
The roof system consists of multiple layers, but the outermost sun exposure layer gives the roof a “cool” characteristic. According to the Department of Energy’s guidelines for choosing cool roofs, dark roofs absorb 90% or more of solar energy and may reach temperatures above 150°F (66°C) during sunshine hours. The light-colored roof absorbs less than 50% of the solar energy.
Cool roof paint is similar to very thick paint and is a very effective energy saving option; it doesn’t even have to be white. Cool colors reflect more sunlight (40%) than similar traditional dark colors (20%), but still lower than light-colored surfaces (80%). Cool roof coatings can also resist ultraviolet rays, chemicals and water, and ultimately extend the life of the roof.
For low-slope roofs, you can use mechanical fasteners, adhesives, or ballasts such as stones or pavers to apply prefabricated single-layer membrane panels to the roof. Combined cold roofs can be built by embedding gravel in the asphalt waterproof layer, or by using mineral surface panels with reflective mineral particles or factory-applied coatings (ie modified asphalt membranes).
Another effective cooling roof solution is to spray polyurethane foam. The two liquid chemicals mix together and expand to form a thick solid material similar to styrofoam. It adheres to the roof and then is coated with a protective cold coating.
The ecological solution for steep slope roofs is cool shingles. Most types of asphalt, wood, polymer or metal tiles can be coated during factory production to provide higher reflection quality. Clay, slate, or concrete tile roofs can reflect naturally, or they can be treated to provide additional protection. Unpainted metal is a good solar reflector, but its heat emitter is very poor, so it must be painted or covered with a cool reflective coating to achieve a cool roof state.
Solar panels are an incredibly green solution, but they usually do not provide adequate roof weather protection and cannot be considered a cool roof solution. Many roofs are not suitable for installing solar panels. Building applications photovoltaics (solar panels for roofs) may be the answer, but this is still under further research.
The main players hitting the global cold roof market are Owens Corning, CertainTeed Corporation, GAF Materials Corporation, TAMKO Building Products Inc., IKO Industries Ltd., ATAS International Inc., Henry Company, PABCO Building Products, LLC., Malarkey Roofing Companies like Polyglass SpA and Polyglass SpA master the latest innovations in cool roofs, and use the most advanced technologies such as drones to detect problem areas and identify safety hazards; they show their customers the best green solutions.
With the massive increase in interest and demand for sustainability, cool roof technology is constantly updated and developed.
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Post time: Sep-18-2021