Dive Brief:
- The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab has developed a ruby-red pigmented "cool roof" with chromium-doped aluminum oxide that performs as well as similar best-in class reflective white roofs.
- Incorporating florescence into the pigment allows for darker colors to achieve the same reflective properties of lighter colors, and should increase "cool roof" adoption among property owners with an aesthetic preference for darker roofs.
- Achieving reflective performance from pigmented coatings can also apply to other commercial white objects in the urban heat island, including vehicle and equipment roofs, PVC pipes, ships and storage tanks.
Dive Insight:
According to a statement from LBNL, the cost of incorporating florescence into roof and building material component coatings doesn’t look to be significant, and the coatings themselves achieve the same durability of non-florescent coatings. Veteran coating and paint vendor PPG has been a partner to the LBNL research and is subjecting the ruby coatings to weathering tests to determine longevity.
Like most efforts designed to improve energy efficiency in the built environment, "cool roofs" — which involve the use of light colored and reflective coatings to reduce a buildings heat load, and consequently the energy needed to cool the building — have endured a proof of concept based primarily on aesthetics.
Green roofs, which use landscaping to achieve a similar effect, have enjoyed somewhat wider adoption. However, concerns regarding the cost of installation and time for maintenance have hindered stronger growth of the green roof market. While pigmented roofs don’t achieve the run-off mitigation of green-roofs, they do offer additional design options for AEC professionals looking to push the envelope on energy efficient buildings.
