It’s widely known and understood that roof coatings are often a less expensive alternative to a complete roof replacement.  Coatings can not only extend the life of an existing roof system, but result in energy savings as well.

The use of light colored reflective coatings not only provide a protective barrier against ultraviolet rays that break down roof membranes, but they also can reduce the roof surface temperatures by 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

In “Potential Benefits of Cool Roofs on Commercial Buildings: Conserving Energy, Saving Money and Reducing Emissions of Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollutants,” LBNL scientists Hashem Akbari and Ronnen Levinson estimate if roofs on 80 percent of air-conditioned commercial buildings in the U.S. were coated to qualify as cool roofs (a conservative 55% aged solar reflectance), the buildings’ owners would save more than 10,000 gigawatt hours of energy annually valued at about $725 million.  These energy savings also would result in an annual reduction of more than 6 megatons of carbon dioxide production, which is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions of about 1.25 million automobiles.

In conclusion, a quality roof coating formulated to ASTM International Performance Standards and properly selected for its intended application should provide years of service and benefit.

For any questions regarding “Roof Coating”,  contact Superior Services R.S.H., Inc., Lansing, Michigan @ 800-843-6561

Superior Services R.S.H., Inc. recently completed the installation of a new sustainable roof system on the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing.  As an added bonus and educational experience, a tour of the Duro-Last Roofing, Inc. manufacturing facilities in Saginaw, Michigan was arranged for the students so that they could better understand the sustainable attributes of Duro-Last.  In addition, during the reroofing process, Superior Services sent daily photos of the roofing installation via email to the students so that they too could monitor our progress.

The term “Green Roof” can mean different things to different people.  Typically, a “Green Roof” is considered to be a vegetated system, including plants and soil or other growth medium planted over a waterproof roofing system.  New innovative systems incorporate the use of preplanted trays.  This type of system is less labor intensive to install and achieves desired results in a relatively short time.

Roof Systems that incorporate the use of photovoltaic modules, solar panels, recycled materials, or other forms of Green technology may also be referred to as a “Green Roof”.

Green Roofs have been around for centuries in Scandanavia.  Germany has been at the fore front of modern development of these systems since the early 1960’s.  Most recently, the demand has increased in the United States as a result of renewed interest in the environment as well as the many direct benefits, such as carbon reduction, urban heat island effect, and storm water management – just to name a few.

We should expect the trend towards “Green Roof” practices to continue and evolve.

The Tenets of Sustainable Roofing:

•   Minimize the burden on the environment.
•   Conserve energy.
•   Extend the service life of the Roof System.

Sustainable Roof Examples:

•   Highly Reflective “Cool Roof” Systems.
•   Garden Roofs.
•   Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Roof Integrated Systems.

Many roofing products can be recycled, such as PVC, TPO, EPDM, as well as metal panels and steel decking.

Remember:  Preserve, Conserve, and Recycle