Want to save energy and combat global warming on a massive scale? Paint all the flat roofs in the world white.
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U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu’s recent suggestion during a London conference couldn’t have been a better plug for “Cool Roofs,” an innovative roofing product made by Pittsburgh-based
Bayer Material Science.“We couldn’t have paid him to say something more effective than what he said,” laughs John Linnell, roofing manager for BaySystems, purveyors of Cool Roof. “Save the planet by painting all the roofs white.”
The BMS product is sprayed on roof surfaces to help reflect the suns rays. The coating, which comes in a palette of reflective colors, adheres without seams or fasteners to existing rooftop material. Not only is it green, but it also extends the lifetime of the roof and repairs leaks, says Linnell. The shield blocks UV rays that degrade the roof in time.
A Cool Roof reflects up to 95 percent of the sun’s rays, substantially reducing the egg-frying heat on top by 50 to 100 degrees. It also effectively cools urban “heat islands” in the summertime. And the potential is there for road and other surfaces, he says.
The roofs are often tax deductible as a sustainable maintenance expense in some states. For more information on the Cool Roof system, click
here.
Writer:
Debra Diamond SmitSource: John Linnell, BaySystems, Bayer Material Science
Image courtesy Bayer Material Science