What is a Cool Roof?

A cool roof reflects and emits the sun’s heat back to the sky instead of absorbing and transferring it to the building below.

“Coolness” is measured by two properties, solar reflectance and thermal emittance. Both properties are measured from 0 to 1 and the higher the value, the “cooler” the roof.

POLICY MAKERS AND CODE OFFICIALSLearn About Cool Roofs

Accurate, Credible, and Reliable RatingsThe CRRC Product Rating Program remains a leader in cool roofing product data through:

• Use of strictly independent and accredited testing laboratories

• Random Testing program to ensure products sold on the market meet their laboratory-tested values.

• Balanced Technical Committee comprised of Industry Experts

Various national programs and codes including the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) rely on the CRRC for credible data.

Referencing the CRRC Rating Program

Certificate 3146.01

ANSI/CRRC S100 is an ANSI accredited standard, which enables it to be referenced in building codes and rating programs worldwide. ANSI accreditation certifies that ANSI/CRRC S100 (formerly CRRC-1 Standard) was developed through a collaborative, balanced, and consensus-based approval process.

Referencing the CRRC allows for greater flexibility and control. Unlike other programs, the CRRC allows for adjustments—your code can reference a certain CRRC rating value or higher, and you can always change that value later to easily raise or lower the bounds.

The CRRC Products Directory supports both low-slope and steep-slope roofing requirements. The online Directory has more than 2,500 roofing products and is designed to conveniently sort by product type, color, slope, and minimum radiative properties.

The CRRC is a reliable rating data source. The CRRC Product Rating Program incorporates third-party testing data and a quality assurance process that verifies the integrity of product ratings through random testing.

Save EnergyAccording to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Urban Heat Island Group, retrofitting 80% of commercial buildings in the United States with cool roofs would yield annual energy cost savings of $735 million2.

Improve grid stabilityReduced air-conditioning demand from decreased indoor temperatures lowers peak electrical demand. Lowered peak electricity usage decreases the likelihood of brownouts and blackouts caused by heat waves.

Reduce the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect Reducing heat absorption and reflecting heat into the atmosphere reduces air-conditioning demand, resulting in decreased greenhouse gas emissions and smog production. Reduce heat-wave associated public health risks Reducing the UHI effect and decreasing temperatures, particularly in the top floors of buildings, can significantly improve a person’s ability to regulate body temperature3.

The overall impacts of cool roof benefits may vary depending on factors such as climate zone, time of year, and energy usage patterns. Additionally, while positive impacts of implementing cool roofs can be significant, proper roof installation is essential to achieving these benefits.

Cool Roofs Can:

Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect: high city temperatures are a result of urban surfaces absorbing and retaining heat, impervious materials reducing the cooling effects of water, and buildings and air pollution trapping anthropogenic heat. This UHI profile from NASA exhibits that city temperatures can reach up to 5˚C higher than surrounding areas1.

1. “Ecosystem, Vegetation Affect Intensity of Urban Heat Island Effect.” NASA. 15 Dec. 2009. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/terra/news/heat-islands.html>.2. R. Levinson and H. Akbari. “Potential Benefits of Cool Roofs on Commercial Buildings: Conserving Energy, Saving Money, and Reducing Emission of Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollutants.” Energy Efficiency 3.1 (2010): 53-109. 3. M. Blasnik & Associates. “Impact evaluation of the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia’s Cool Homes Pilot Project: a REACH grant funded project to help Philadelphia’s low-income senior citizens deal safely with excessive summer heat”. Web. 17 Feb. 2015 <http://www.coolrooftoolkit.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Blasnik-2004-Eval-coolhomes_Philly-EAC.pdf>.

Impacts of Cool Roofs

Code or Program Type of Cool Roof MeasureDescription of Code or Program Cool Roof Measure

Examples of Cool Roof Codes and ProgramsRecognition of the positive impacts of cool roofs has led to the adoption of cool roof provisions in energy codes and the inclusion of cool roofing as part of green building initiatives. This table lists examples of various codes and standards that include cool roofing provisions and references to the CRRC’s ANSI standard.

National Model Energy Code that can be adopted and modified by a juridiction as part of regulation or law

Minimum SR, TE, and SRI values, references the CRRC’s ANSI standard

Minimum values vary with each standard

ASHRAE 90.1

International voluntary certification program for sustainable buildings

Minimum Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) requirement

> 82 (64 aged) for low-slope> 39 (32 aged) for steep-slope

USGBC LEED v4

Mandatory state-wide code for new construction or major re-roofing projects

Roofing material certification requirement

Roofing products must be certified by CRRC or another supervisory entity approved by the CEC

Minimum values vary by building type, slope type, and climate zone

California’s Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (2013)

Mandatory state-wide energy code

References National Model Energy Code (ASHRAE 90.1) with some modifications

Commercial buildings must comply with ASHRAE 90.1 (2007); residential buildings must comply with IECC 2009

Georgia State Minimum Standard Energy Code

Mandatory city-wide energy code

Roofing material certification requirement; Minimum Solar Reflectance (SR) requirement

Roofing products must be certified by CRRC or Energy Star

> 0.72 (0.5 aged) for low > 0.15 for medium-slope

City of Chicago Energy Conservation Code

CONTACT USVisit CRRC at www.coolroofs.org or contact us directly:Tel: 1-866-465-2523 (toll-free in the U.S.)info@coolroofs.org Printed June 2016