At the time when it is turning out to be one of the hottest on record, cool roof coating are showing their mettle, and proving to be—pretty cool. There is no stopping to the debate as to which type of roofing material is the most durable and how long the average roof endure. That said, substrate does not dictate the longevity of a roof. Doesn’t matter if a roof is composed of slate, tile, fiberglass, wood shingles, metal, conventional asphalt or rubber membrane; most of the pundits might be on the same page: A roof’s longevity lasts until it succumbs to leakage.
Not long ago the Hobson’s choice to seal a leaky roof was tar. For uninitiated, tar is the remnant from coal production which is brown and oily. Patching a roof with tar was never the most environmentally conducive or safest choice—it was mixed with petroleum and heated to hostile high temperatures. However, it was the most economical.
In the long run, tar’s initial lower cost loses its charm. It is unhidden that tar roofs are vulnerable to cracking and mildew. Given tar is black, it significantly absorbs the sun’s rays, propelling residual heat transfer into the said building.
As the old adage goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Realizing the soaring energy cost and repair cost linked with tar, quest for a replacement intensified. In the past two decades, the hunt for safer, cooler, durable roof coatings has travelled from the drawing board to the scientific testing laboratory to the stocked-and-ready shelves of building supply stores and home improvement.
The first generation of cool roof coating coatings adhered to the philosophy “the whiter the better.” Why? The answer is thermodynamics. Excellent white is said to reflect up to 90 percent of the sun’s rays and reduce heat flux by three-fifth.
Most of the cool roof coating include silicone which has not only aids in making the coating whiter, but also helps in averting grease, mold and other contaminants from dampening the whiteness of the coating. In addition, silicone generally bolsters longevity and it is in itself a potent waterproofing agent. Incredibly it can also withstand ponding water on flat roofs.
Unsurprisingly, white is going green. Environmental and governmental agencies have become vocal towards sustainability. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a rating system conceptualized by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to assess building’s environmental performance and motivate towards sustainable design, is relentlessly working towards achieving its objective. With up to 25 percent energy savings, the cool roofing market is doing its bit to be the most agile in LEED compliance.
The massive challenge is to find a replacement to the tried-and-tested silicone. Its disadvantages appear to outweigh its advantages. The shelf life of silicone is hard to come by. If remained unopened, cool-roofing products containing silicone can be conducive for merely two years—the product must be used instantly provided seal is broken. Of late discovery resulted from the amalgamation of two types of resins can be a game-changer.
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