The secretary of the U.S Department of Energy, Dr Stephen Chu, announced in a statement yesterday that all Department of energy building are to have white roofs installed during new construction or when replacing them.
“Cool roofs are one of the quickest and lowest-cost ways we can reduce our global carbon emissions and begin the hard work of slowing climate change,” he said in a statement.
Dr. Chu has been pushing white roofs for a while now. In 2009, he talked to The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart about their benefits. “When you’re thinking of putting on a new roof, make it white,” Dr. Chu said. “It costs no more to make it white than to make it black,”
He also was quoted:
“By demonstrating the benefits of cool roofs on our facilities, the federal government can lead the nation toward more sustainable building practices, while reducing the federal carbon footprint and saving money for taxpayers.”
The benefit of a cool roof is that it reflects more of the solar energy away from the building thus lowering cooling costs and consequently offsetting carbon emissions. It also reduces the heat island effect, the darker surfaces of an urban area are said to absorb more heat thereby increasing the temperature of the area.
Quote from the department of energy:
“Cool roofs use lighter-colored roofing surfaces or special coatings to reflect more of the sun’s heat, helping improve building efficiency by reducing cooling costs and offsetting carbon emissions.”

The roofing contractor that ignores cool roofing is doing so at their peril. This is a trend that is only going to grow as time goes on. The benefit to roofers is that becoming knowledgeable about cool roofing and offering it as a service will further separate you from the competition.

There is a sizable segment of the market that is only interested in discussing roofing in terms of energy efficiency. Don’t lock yourself out by ignoring this growing trend.

What do you think? Your comments are welcome.