Lift Engineering and Construction Industry

If someone decides that they want to set up a cool roof to their work or commercial shop, then they basically have a choice of three different types. These major categories (which can then also be broken down into their own sub-types) are inherently cool roofs, coated roofs and green roofs.

Intrinsically cool roofs are basically roofs that are covered in white vinyl and these are amongst the most greatly reflective roofing materials available today. Roofs made of this thermoplastic white vinyl covering can actually reflect up to 80% of the sun’s rays, while being able to emit at the very least 70% of the temperature the building absorbs through solar radiation. To put this into prospective, an asphalt roof will only reflect from 6-26% of all solar radiation, meaning that the interior of the building will get warmer and have all the related costs that this entails to try and keep it cooler.

Customarily, coated roofs used white paint as this proved to be very efficient at reflecting solar rays. Nowadays different methods are coming to the fore which offers significantly better reflective properties. One of these products is white paint based and contains a formulation of hollow glass microspheres which are known to increase reflective properties. This technique is called Hyperglass Rubber Roof Coating.

Last but not least, the third category of cool roof is the so-called green roof. These types of roof usually consist of a an insulation layer, a waterproofed membrane, a cover for drainage which can be clay or gravel, a unique filter that allows water to pass but doesn’t erode the soil above, and then the green life itself in the form of plants.

Green roofs themselves can be classed as either concentrated or extensive, with some actually incorporating both. Intensive green roofs are, as the name implies, used for more advanced roof constructions and require at least one foot of top soil. They are usually multi-layered and have very elaborate drainage and irrigation systems and can be used for recreational purposes as they can support foot traffic. The downside to having this type of green roof is the fact that it adds a quite significant load onto the structure of the building, as well as requiring a very high level of maintenance.

On the other hand, extensive green roofs only require a very shallow layer of soil (usually less than six inches) and require much less maintenance. These are designed to contain smaller plant life such as grasses, mosses and wildflowers.

No matter which green roof category is chosen for a shop, they both have some very good benefits. These include having a long life span, better air quality as the plants absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen, great insulation and finally, the main reason why people add this type of roof in the first place, a cooler environment.

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A cool roof can be described as a roof utilizing reflection as a means to deflect sunrays, as well as having the ability to release a big proportion of any absorbed solar heat. As a general rule of thumb, most of these cool roofs today are either white or very light in color.

Although cool roofs are more of a concern in hotter climates, cooler climates can also benefit from them as well, as over the long run they help the buildings cut down on their carbon footprints. The actual cooling benefits of one of these roof surfaces by far overshadows any potential cold month or winter heating benefits of dark colored roofs that are much less reflective.

The majority of roofs globally at this moment in time are dark colored and therefore less reflective. An obvious off-shoot to this are the higher temperatures these roofs reach and all the problems associated with such an increase. It is well known that a dark colored roof can increase in temperature by almost 50 degrees centigrade in full sunshine in the warmer months and some of the obvious disadvantages of this are described in the following passage.

First and foremost, it can lead to a quicker deterioration of the materials used to construct the roof, meaning increased maintenance costs over the roofs lifetime. Also, there is going to be an increased usage of energy due to attempts at cooling the building through use of air conditioning and fans. This not only increases the discomfort of the people in the building, it also puts a strain on the utility system increasing CO2 emissions and therefore impacting negatively on the environment. Not to mention higher utility bills.

Having a cool roof fitted in the place of a dark colored roof has many benefits and can impact dramatically on immediate as well as long term savings in terms of energy costs. Some of the benefits of these cool roofs, which can include green roofs (plant or grass covered), reflective membrane roofs or coated roofs, are listed below.

The most obvious benefit is the energy savings it affords. Even countries in colder climates can take advantage of this. Because roof temperature gain on a white reflective roof, for example, is only about eight degrees centigrade above the surrounding air temperature, the buildings heat gain as a whole is greatly reduced. Therefore demand for power to run air conditioning units or fans in the summer months can be reduced by up to 10%.

Another important benefit is the fact that the actual material used to create the cool roof, has its life expectancy increased dramatically. This also means that any equipment that was used for cooling the building down will also gain from this.

Lastly, but by no means least, the beneficial effects on the environment are increased as there is less lower emissions from greenhouse gases and less air pollution.

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