White Roofing Systems: October 2012

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Obama's 'Cool Roofs Initiative' helps agencies achieve energy-saving goals (Part 2)

Chu introduces Cool Roofs Initiative

In July 2010, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu issued a memorandum directing that all DoE sites install cool roofs like those manufactured by Conklin when it was cost effective, when a roof needed to be replaced or repaired.

"It's only when it's cost effective," said Jennifer MacDonald, the director of DoE's Sustainability Performance Office, whose office was established to help DoE meet all of its sustainability goals and requirements. "These roofs ensure that we're gaining energy efficiency savings."

DoE has installed approximately 160 cool roofs, adding roofs when new buildings are being built or older roofs are being repaired. Those facilities have about 10% cool roofs, but they are ensuring that any new buildings or any buildings that need new roofs are going to have cool roofs installed.

"About 50% of the buildings at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are cool roofs, which is a 27% increase from 2010," MacDonald said. "A number of our other laboratories have also redesigned their building specifications to include cool roofs, such as the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh and Morgantown, W.Va."

When Chu issued his memorandum, he also sent out a letter to other agencies encouraging them to work on cool roof initiatives. DoE helps agencies to do that via the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). "They are specifically designed to help assist other agencies in meeting all of the energy and sustainability goals," MacDonald said. "So FEMP has additional resources on their website about the types of roofs that can be installed, potential service providers and also helpful tips."

Please watch this short video for an overview of Conklin's energy efficient cool roofing systems:

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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Obama's 'Cool Roofs Initiative' helps agencies achieve energy-saving goals (Part 1)

President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13514 in October 2009, establishing reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased energy efficiency goals for agencies. One of the ways agencies can achieve this is is to install "cool roofs" on their buildings, like the ones manufactured by Conklin.

When a building has a darker roof, it absorbs heat from sunlight. "The more reflective and the lighter the color of the roof, it actually increases what's called the 'albedo,' the reflection of the sun off of the building's surface," said Jennifer MacDonald, the director of DoE's Sustainability Performance Office. "So, it reduces the need to then cool the building further, especially as you are trying to maintain cooler temperatures in higher buildings."

As roofs come up for repair or new buildings are constructed, the Energy Department will typically install a cool roof. For example, the National Nuclear Security Administration has set aside a roof asset modernization program. "They have about 2.5 million square feet that have been turned into cool roofs, at a savings of about half a million dollars and up to $10 million over the next 15 years," MacDonald said.