Green Construction Contractor » Energy Savings

A Cool Roof is Essential for Green Commercial Construction

Green Contractor — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 00:20:04 +0000

When the sun beats down on a black tar roof, the result is not unlike an oven. Temperatures can climb to as high as 190 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface of traditional dark colored roofs, and the suns rays are absorbed and the heat is transmitted to the rest of the building. The nearly 200 degrees of blistering heat on the roof can be dispersed throughout the entire structure raising the internal temperature by at much as fifteen degrees. The time-tested solution of the last fifty years has been to simply pump enough air conditioning into the upper floors of the structure to counteract the heating. It works, but at enormous cost and with no efficiency.

That's why the switch to cool white-colored high reflective commercial roofing systems is becoming an incredibly popular choice among business owners, architects, and builders. Simply put: a white roof with high reflection equals a greener building. It comes down to whether or not the roof is going to absorb the heat of the sun's rays or reflect them. Just like wearing a white shirt on a hot day helps keep you cooler than wearing a dark shirt, making your roof white via reflective membranes or painting it will reflect light and the heat that comes with it.

White-roofed buildings have been shown to save 15 to 20 percent on air conditioning expenses during the summer. This is because a white roof can cut out up to 10 percent of daily energy usage. When a building is forced to succumb to urban heat island effect, this can mean thousands upon thousands of dollars saved every year. But the benefits aren't strictly for the businesses underneath such roofs. Since white roofs reduce the amount of power a building uses, they ultimately help reduce the level of greenhouse gases that building is responsible for emitting into the atmosphere every year.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 90 percent of American roofs are dark colored. If more people switched to white roofs, the urban heat island effect could be significantly reduced as would energy usage and waste in general. Builders and businesses in the position to paint existing roofs or build a new one should seriously consider the implementation of cool white roofing. It's one of the cooler ways to save a buck and go green at the same time.

Photo Credits: Sarey*

Originally posted 2011-07-27 20:28:16. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

Taking DIY Disasters into Your Own Hands Watching home improvement television may inspire you to tackle your own home renovation projects, but just as quickly as you found the inspiration to get started, you will find yourself getting over your head. Every year, millions of Americans are tackling their own home remodeling projects, both large and small.......
Green Building Materials Green Construction is the practice of building in a way that increases efficiency of the use of materials like energy, water and other materials and resources while reducing the impact on human health and the environment during the process of building through more efficient design, site selection, construction, operation, maintenance......
Healthy Green Alternatives Push Asbestos Out of the Home Today's article is written by Joe Lederman, an Awareness Coordinator at the Mesothelioma Cancer Center. When purchasing or remodeling a home or building, there are many variables to consider. Homes which were built prior to 1980 have a strong likelihood of containing asbestos materials. Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that......
Ten Tips Toward a More Eco Friendly Home Tip 1 - Turn the lights off any time that they are not needed, even if you are just moving from room to room in the course of your day. According to Energy Star, as much as 20 percent of a home's overall energy use comes from its lighting. Using......
Understanding the Vapor Barrier The first thing to understand is that there is a difference between vapor barriers and what air barriers are. When properly defined, a vapor barrier alone is not capable of controlling the movement of air, but rather it is responsible for controlling the movement of moisture. Vapor barriers are not......

Online Stores

Insulated Vinyl Siding’s Green Performance Documented in New Study

Green Contractor — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:25:04 +0000

Recent studies that have been sponsored on the behalf of NYSERDA, insulated vinyl siding has demonstrated that it contributes to energy consumption savings as well as savings in CO2 emissions and energy costs, which means that insulated vinyl siding is capable of outperforming fiber cement when these environmental measures and energy measures are compared between the two materials. These studies were recently conducted by a group called Newport Ventures as a part of the High Performance Residential Development Challenge on the behalf of NYSERDA. The studies included the analysis of homes that were in Saratoga Springs and Burnt Hills in New York.

In the Burnt Hills area, researchers performed a field test of the two products side by side, comparing fiber cement and insulated vinyl siding to one another. The test was conducted in the winter time on a two story colonial home that was built by a company called Stewart Construction. According to a thermal imaging comparison, there was clearly far less heat loss when it came to the insulated vinyl siding in comparison to the heat loss experienced by the fiber cement.

In addition to this side by side field test, researchers used a whole building energy simulation tool known as REM/Rate to evaluate the relative performance for each product. This analysis ended up finding that on average, the specification of the insulated vinyl siding compared to fiber cement would be able to provide an expected savings every year of $56 dollars just in electric utility and natural gas costs, as well as savings of 3.2 million Btu an 448 pounds worth of CO2 in a single year.

In the Saratoga Springs area, a single story home built by the Belmonte Builders company received the insulated vinyl siding. This home was the first Gold Rating home in the capital region of New York, with the Gold Rating coming from the LEED certification, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification offered by the United States Green Building Conference. By installing insulated vinyl siding, a home can achieve as many as three points under LEED, and as many as 205 points for the Green Building Standard, National ICC 700-2008.

The single story Saratoga Springs home also managed to confirm that both curb appeal and environmental performance are capable of going hand in hand. During an open house, 68 percent of visitors participating in a survey reported that they felt that the insulated vinyl siding was very attractive. 95 percent of those surveyed agreed that the visual appeal of the insulated vinyl siding was better than the average.

NYSERDA is the Energy Research and Development Authority for New York State. This is a public benefit group that focuses on the research and development of projects relating to environmental effects of the consumption of energy, the development of resources that are renewable and the advancement of technologies that are innovative.

Photo Credits: Alside

Originally posted 2009-06-25 16:35:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

A Cool Roof is Essential for Green Commercial Construction When the sun beats down on a black tar roof, the result is not unlike an oven. Temperatures can climb to as high as 190 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface of traditional dark colored roofs, and the suns rays are absorbed and the heat is transmitted to the rest of......
Fork Loader or Forklift Truck A skidsteer loader that is fitted with fork attachments is known as a fork loader. There are a variety of reasons why using a Fork loader might be preferable at any given time than using a forklift truck. First of all, a skidsteer loader is a very adaptable piece of......
Study Shows Homeowners Using Landscaping to Save Energy and Water In this current day and age, where common activities among people include the tightening of wallets and the fearing of soaring energy bills, almost everyone has had to adopt some substantial practices inside and outside of their own homes. Americans are also incorporating techniques in their landscaping that are allowing......
Green Home Makeovers that are Easy and Affordable Are you looking to save the environment, but you cannot afford costly options like solar panels? Are you looking for a way to cut down on your energy costs, but are not all together sure about installing wind turbines in your back yard? Don't worry! There are plenty of things......
Green Building Materials Green Construction is the practice of building in a way that increases efficiency of the use of materials like energy, water and other materials and resources while reducing the impact on human health and the environment during the process of building through more efficient design, site selection, construction, operation, maintenance......

Online Stores