Metal Roofing Is The Antidote To Future Higher Energy Bills

By Scott Kriner, Green Metal Consulting

Electricity rates are going up. In my home state of Pennsylvania, the utility company announced that rates could jump as much as 36% in 2010 as the rate cap is lifted. Pennsylvania Power & Light company is even allowing customers to pre-pay into a fund that can be used to soften the blow of the higher utility bills when the new rates take effect. Electricity rate caps are being lifted or have already been lifted in other states around the country too. This is all in the name of deregulation of the electricity utility industry.

In Washington, DC, we are hearing more about the potential for cap-and-trade legislation coming out of Congress. Experts predict that this program will undoubtedly result in higher costs for energy in general. We’ve already seen the price spikes at the gasoline pumps this past summer, and no one expects the current lower prices to remain low forever.

And with this backdrop being scary enough, then President-Elect Barack Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2008: “I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, natural gas, you name it- whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers under my plan of a cap-and-trade system Electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.”

So, are you ready for some higher energy bills?

What’s a building owner to do? Well, it’s clear that the first step is to develop a plan to conserve as much energy as possible, and to improve efficiency. This can start on the interior of a building by looking at smart and lower energy lighting, programmable thermostats, insulating hot water plumbing fixtures, identifying phantom plug loads, and putting more insulation in crawl spaces and attics. In the building envelope, energy conservation can take place with more wall and roof insulation, weatherizing doors and window openings, installing efficient windows, and oh yeah, installing an energy efficient roof.

Many building owners don’t consider the roof as part of the energy conservation or energy efficiency plan. The primary function of a roof is to keep out the weather elements. But the roof also plays a role in heat gain and heat loss from the building. A cool metal roof that is properly insulated and ventilated can help to reduce cooling/heating energy consumption. In the residential sector, homeowners who install an Energy Star labeled metal roof can receive up to a $500 tax credit on their federal income taxes. That amount may be increasing as part of the Stimulus Package being debated on Capitol Hill. For commercial building owners, about 1/6th of the cooling/heating energy is impacted by the roof’s thermal performance. Cool metal roofing can reduce annual cooling energy costs by 25-40%, and more importantly reduce the peak electricity demand loads placed on a building during hot summertime afternoons.

The longevity of metal roofing and its high recycled content, full recyclability, and ability to help optimize energy use make it a sustainable building product. To a homeowner or building owner, these features also mean low life cycle costs and retained thermal properties over the service life of the roof.

If you’re not ready for higher electricity bills yet, what are you waiting for?

Scott Kriner is the president and founder of Green Metal Consulting Inc. He is a LEED Accredited Professional who began his career in the metal construction industry in 1981. His company is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, the California Association of Building Energy Consultants and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET). Scott can be reached by email at skriner1@verizon.net, or by phone at (610) 966-2430. You can also visit him on the web at www.greenmetalconsulting.com.  

To view other columns by Scott and other columnists, click here.