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A cool roof utilizes materials with high solar reflectance and thermal emittance to reflect solar energy and reduce heat gain to the home
Light colors have been used on exterior walls and roofs to keep buildings cooler in hot climates for centuries, as shown by this traditional building in Morocco, built in the early 1800s
Right – This home uses a light-colored exterior wall to reduce solar heat gain
Right – This home uses light tan stucco and white trim to reduce solar heat gain.
Right – This metal roof is being coated with a cool (high SRI) coating to reduce solar heat gain
Side by side comparisons of standard roofing colors (top row) and cool colors (bottom row) shows that solar reflectance (R) can be reduced significantly using special coatings with almost no change to the color
The cool shingles on the right have been coated with a ceramic coating to reflect near-infrared radiation, resulting in a cooler roof as shown by these thermal images (red and yellow are hotter, green and blue are cooler).
The existing dark tile roof on this home (top photo) was covered with a light -colored coating on day 6 (middle photo), resulting in a significant reduction in attic temperature and cooling energy consumption (bottom)
The IR image on the right shows the sun is heating the southeast-facing wall of this concrete-block house to 36C (97F); this corner of the home would not be a good place for a cool room due to lack of shading and insulation
The white TPO membrane roof on the row house on the right performs extremely well at reflecting solar energy and maintaining cool surface temperatures while the black EPDM membrane roof on the left heats up rapidly in the sunlight
This home uses light-colored standard paints and finishes on siding and roofing materials to reduce cooling loads without adding material cost.
This search for metal roofing products on the CRRC Rated Roof Products Directory highlights the initial and 3-year aged SRI values for each product
This simplified decision tree can help a homeowner or contractor assess how appropriate a cool roof or wall will be for a particular home
Wall surfaces having high solar reflectance and high thermal emittance will remain cooler when exposed to direct sunlight.