Why Cool Roofs Have Become More Common on Commercial Buildings

As business owners look for more ways to save energy and increase comfort in their office buildings, they often evaluate how they will build their commercial buildings. In the process, many of them embrace cool roofs. These roofs have bright solar-reflective surfaces to reflect light and heat away from your building.

Below are six reasons why cool roofs are common in commercial buildings.

1. Improve Indoor Comfort
When temperatures outside are high, your roof absorbs most of the heat to cause a rise in indoor temperatures. Even if your building has an air conditioning system, it may not be able to cool the entire space properly. A cool roof doesn't absorb the sun's heat, so the indoor temperatures will remain steady despite the outside weather conditions.

Cool roofs are also a great option for areas that can't allow proper air conditioning, like the parking garage and restaurant patio. You can keep these spaces cool even during the hottest summer months.

2. Help in Energy Savings
Because cool roofs don't crank up the temperatures inside your office, they reduce the dependency on HVAC systems for cooling. As a result, the energy necessary to maintain the temperature inside your commercial building is much less.

And, the fact that you don't over-rely on your AC unit means you get to save on cooling costs. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute indicates that a cool roof can reduce air conditioning energy needs by up to 15% in a single building — this lead to considerable savings on utility costs.

3. Have a Longer Lifespan
When a traditional roof has exposure to too much heat and the sun's UV rays, degradation occurs. The roof may dry out, crack, become brittle, or develop leaks that necessitate a roof replacement. Even if the roof doesn't need a replacement, the maintenance costs will often be high due to frequent repairs.

Thanks to their reflective abilities, cool roofs don't feel the impact of heat or UV rays. Besides, the materials in these roofs need less maintenance. Your roof can serve its entire lifespan without costing lots of money in repairs.

4. Reduce Heat Island Effect
Because of the high number of commercial buildings in towns and cities, traditional roofing materials like asphalt contribute to the heat island effect by absorbing too much heat to keep the temperatures higher than in other surrounding areas.

If a city has many buildings with cool roofs, less heat absorption happens. As a result, the heat island effect is minimal, while the people are safe from heat-related illnesses like exhaustion, cramps, and heatstroke.

5. Protect the Environment
As already mentioned, cool roofs often have a longer lifespan than other types of roofs in areas with hot climates. Commercial building owners don't have to replace their cool roofs a few years after installation. Therefore, less roofing waste ends up in landfills, which is good for the environment.

Since cool roofs save on energy, they also can reduce carbon emissions from power plants. Carbon emissions affect the environment by causing global warming and climate change.

6. Minimize Peak Demand for Electricity
If a business or company uses less electricity on cooling, it contributes less to power peak demand. For this reason, the business can avoid peak demand rates and reduce power outages as well. Any opportunity for a company to save money is good news for its bottom line.

If you want to learn more about cool roofs or install one on your building, contact our expert roofing contractors at Cal Roofing Systems Inc. With over 30 years of experience in the roofing industry, we can do the perfect job you deserve.