Things Are Looking Up

By Scott Kriner, Green Metal Consulting Inc.

We often hear the saying, “My energy bills are going through the roof!”. This is often considered to be a figure of speech. But in reality, the saying can be taken literally.

A large portion of our cooling energy bill is influenced by the type of roof on our buildings. The roof surface is responsible for the majority of the solar gain through the building envelope. The solar energy that comes through a roof increases the cooling load placed on the HVAC equipment inside the building. The use of insulation, radiant barriers and cool roof surfaces can minimize that solar gain.

There is even evidence that the roof systems of the future will be able to eliminate the gain completely. In theory, this can be accomplished with a specific combination of cool roof products, insulation, air spaces, radiant barriers, phase change materials, ventilation and other barriers. For now, this is a concept that needs to be tested. Plans are underway