Roof Top Savings | Green Energy News

July 7, 2002 – Vol.7 No.15

ROOF-TOP SAVINGS.

Simple things can reduce pollution, help mitigate global warming and lessen our dependence on imported fossil fuels. Simple things like the color of our roofs.

In California, where roof surfaces can reach 150-190 F degrees on a sunny summer day, energy consumption for a building can be reduced by up to 20 percent by replacing or resurfacing a dark-colored roof with a light one. A light reflective roof can be 50-60 F degrees cooler than a dark one which absorbs over 70 percent of the sun’s energy. A cooler roof reduces the workload on the building’s air conditioning system to save energy and money.

Some retail chain stores in California that have switched from sunlight absorbing roofs to reflecting ones are reaping the rewards of energy savings by collecting rebates offered under the Cool Savings for Cool Roofs Program offered by the state’s Energy Commission. Participants in the program can receive rebates of 15-20 cents per square foot of eligible roofing.

So far Wal-Mart is in line to collect checks of $26,400 and $23,433 for new light-colored roofs on two stores. Sears has already received $21,245 and $13,256 for two stores, and Target has received $8,776 for one store roof and another check is in the mail for $20,295 for another store. But the big prize goes to Lowes, with checks totaling more than $200,000 for new cool roofs on at least 6 stores.

Aside from saving energy by reducing air conditioning, a cooler roof can extend the life of air conditioning equipment (it works less), reduce its maintenance costs, make buildings more comfortable for workers and reduce the heat island effect where clusters of heat radiating buildings raise the temperature of the air in their vicinity. Cities are generally hotter than the surrounding areas because of all the heat radiating surfaces. Visit the Cool Savings with Cool Roofs Program at http://www.coolroofs.info/ .