What is Cool Roofing?

There is a fairly new phrase in the roofing arena that not many people in the general public are familiar with, although they should be for a number of reasons. It is the term Cool Roof.

Per the California Energy Commission “Cool roofs are highly reflective, highly emissive (meaning heat emitting) roofing materials that stay 50 – 60 degrees cooler than a normal roof under a hot summer sun.”

California’s Energy Efficiency Standards for Office and NonOffice Buildings became effective on January 1, 2010. These standards require Office and non Office buildings to meet stronger energy efficiency requirements. These requirements cover many areas other than roofing however roofing will have the most economic impact.

How this will affect commercial, industrial and multi-family real estate is that when the old roof needs to be replaced it will need to comply with the new standard; any new construction will have to conform to the new construction codes.

It isn’t necessary to replace a roof to take advantage of the benefits that a cool roof has to offer. The method of achieving this on an existing roof is by applying an approved cool roof reflective coating over the existing roof. There are tremendous advantages to this, namely:

• Cost. The cost to install a Cool Roof over an existing roof is much less, often no more than 25% the cost of installing a new roof.

• If the space below is air conditioned the reduced heat load will lower the cost of cooling significantly. This means that the average installation pays for itself quickly and begins putting savings back in the bank.

• Roof maintenance costs are reduced due to the protective and preserving nature of the cool roof coatings.

• Wear and tear on air conditioning systems are reduced due to reduced demand for cooling.

• There is a tax benefit because this is generally listed as a repair and able to be deducted right away as a tax deductible operating expense rather than depreciated over many years as in the case of a roof replacement. Check this point with your tax advisor and your particular circumstances.

• Prolonging the life of the existing roof almost indefinitely if it is properly maintained.

• There is an added environmental benefit because the existing roof does not need to be torn off, thereby not taxing the environmental waste systems.

The average commercial roofing system lasts approximately 15 – 20 years if well maintained before it needs to be torn off and replaced with a new roof. The above cool roof method can be done over and over again with significant savings each time it is done.

There are circumstances wherein the existing roof is at the end of its life and needs more than just a reflective coating installed over it. This is when roofing restoration comes into play. Roofing restoration will be the subject of a future article. The cost and environmental savings due to all this is amazing.

Commercial flat roofing will never be the same.