Reflecting Roofs

To begin with, cool roofs can significantly reduce a building’s cooling costs. The cool roofs cut air conditioning costs by 15-percent or more, mitigates the urban heat Island effect, and reduces air pollution and greenhouse gases. While some of the savings realized in summer from cool roofs are lost in winter, the lower 48 states enjoy a net gain in energy savings right up to the Canadian border. Above the 49th Parallel, the winters are too cold.

Significant Savings in Summer
While everyone wants effective roof covering material to reflect the sun and insulate a building, it’s not an inexpensive undertaking. In fact, many high tech reflective material roofs are installed with the understanding that the high cost of the roofing material is offset by the savings the building owner will realize when they cut the heat of the roof from 40-percent to 95-percent. Cool roofs reduce a roof temperature that can be 50-percent higher than the heat on the ground. With such a high performing surface, reflective roof coating can considerably reduce the energy expended to cool a building.

Fluid Applied Reinforced Roofing
In truth, you can get over that initial investment hurdle before you move on to energy efficiency by appreciating the complete savings. On the other hand, a reflective roof coating like fluid applied reinforced roofing, or FARR for short can cut costs in other ways. FARR is a spray-on application with an acrylic coating that can be applied to many existing roofs, thereby eliminating the need to replace the roof. While FARR roofing systems can extend the life of the roof, the seamless application makes it inspection ready without much hassle. The material that’s sprayed on the roof actually seals it. The white color reflects away visible, infrared, and ultraviolet rays of the sun.