Options for coating asphalt roof systems

If you spend more money on cooling than on heating your commercial building, you can cut this coming summer's air conditioning bills significantly by investing in a reflective roof coating system.

The primary options for coating an asphalt roof are white polymers (like those manufactured by Conklin Roofing Systems and asphalt-like resins with reflective aluminum flakes. Both are reasonably priced, and offer a quick payback.

Why install a reflective roof coating?

Flat asphalt roofs can reach up to 200 degrees, absorbing up to 70% of the solar heat. By contrast, the best reflective roof coatings reflect up to 80% of solar heat, and can reduce roof surface temperatures by 80 degrees.

Reflecting a significant amount of solar heat can cut internal building temperatures by up to 10 degrees, increasing the effectiveness of the roof insulation and cutting cooling costs by 25-70%. It also makes the building more comfortable in areas that are not air conditioned, and the roof will last longer without the heat-related cracking and deterioration, which saves you money on labor and materials in the long run.

About white reflective roof coatings

High-quality white roof coatings like those from Conklin are made with acrylics or similar materials mixed with an opaque, white and reflective pigments. They are the most effective reflective coating for the majority of asphalt roof systems. There are also polymeric coatings that are tinted for aesthetic reasons, but they are less reflective and won't save as much on energy consumption.

Tests at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have consistently demonstrated that white elastomeric coatings offer about 60% solar reflectance, leaving the roof temperature only 36 degrees higher than the ambient air temperature - a much smaller difference than the surface temperatures on a black asphalt roof. All roof coatings must be chosen and applied carefully, particularly on rough asphalt roofs.

Calculate your potential savings from installing a white roof coating

The federal government does not offer energy saving rebates for reflective roof coatings (although some states do), but you can look for Energy Star-rated roof coatings, which guarantee a minimum level of reflectance.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory also have a roof savings calculator that uses weather data and your building information to estimate the cost of a new roofing system or coating and the potential energy savings. After you plug in data, the lab will email you results.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Why white roof coatings for low-slope roofs?

Reflective roof coatings like the ones manufactured by Conklin Roofing Systems are the fastest-growing product segment in the fluid-applied roofing market. White roof coatings lower a building's energy use and meet the more stringentperformance requirements for cool roofing in the building codes of many states. As if that wasn't enought, they also restore, protect and beautify most existing waterproofing systems and prolong the life of almost any low-slope roof system (including metal, concrete, EPDM, built-up, and many more).

Architects, legislators and property owners & managers are embracing the idea that building design has a significant impact on energy consumption and sustainability. They are also recognizing that reflective coatings offer huge benefits with few (if any) draw-backs. Energy reduction initiatives promote the use of cool roof materials, and some building codes are now requiring the installation of reflective roof systems.

Lowering energy consumption isn't the sole benefit of white roof coatings. They extend the life expectancy of several commercial roof systems by eliminating extreme roof surface temperatures resulting in extended exposure to the sun. Heavily insulated roof systems (like many in northern states) block radiation from penetrating the building as heat, but in summer months convective heat transfer to the surrounding air and radiant heat transfer are inefficient. The heat has nowhere to go, and roof surface temperatures can soar. Coatings also prevent premature roof deterioration by providing a “sacrificial” layer to take the punishment of weather extremes and events.

Cold weather climates can benefit from roof coatings as well. The NYC Dept of Buildings launched the volunteer-based NYC Cool Roofs Program in the spring of 2010 to install white coatings on 1 million square feet of roofs in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 30% by 2030. NYC.gov states: “a cool roof absorbs 80% less heat than traditional dark colored roofs and can lower roof temperatures by up to 60 degrees and indoor temperatures by 10-20 degrees on hot days.”

Coatings also waterproof and extend the lives of older roofs, protecting the integrity of a roof by reducing thermal-shock roof damage. A cool roof coating moderates the excessive thermal expansion and contraction that otherwise could lead to fastener and seal failures.


Find a Contractor here


ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Concordia University professor advocates cool roofing to fight climate change

Hashem Akbari, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) believes a significant part of the of global-warming solution has to do with roofing. Something as simple as the color of roofs in a urban area can contribute significantly to combating global warming, saving homeowners and building owners energy costs in the process. Akbari says that installing a white, or "cool" roof would not absorb as much heat as a standard dark roof is a key element to fighting global warming.

"Cool roofs save you energy if your building is air-conditioned. If the building needs air conditioning, installing a cool roof may actually solve your problem and you may not need it," he said. "This all would be done at zero cost because you basically do that at the time you are changing your roof. At that time... you just select a white roof or light roof. If you do that then you also improve the ambient air quality within the city and you cool the globe."

Scientists sketched a vision of converting the world's cities into giant sunlight reflectors to help fight global warming. Gradually replacing traditional urban roofs and roads with white or lighter-coloured materials would yield a cooling benefit that, over 50 years, would be the equivalent of a reduction of between 25-150 billion tons of carbon dioxide. At the top end of the scale, this equals the emissions of all the world's cars over the same period, their study published in Britain's Institute of Physics' journal Environmental Research Letters stated.

Light-colored materials like those manufactured by Conklin Roofing Systems help reflect the sun's rays rather than absorb and convert them into heat (a phenomenon known as albedo).

Pavements and roofs make up more than 60% of urban surfaces. By trapping solar energy, they are largely to blame for heat islands, where cities or metropolitan areas become local hot spots. Urban heat islands consume massive energy in air conditioning and inflict significant health costs through smog.

Akbari - also founder and executive vice-chair of the Global Cool Cities Alliance - said in cooler places that require more heat in the winter, but also require air conditioning in the summer the net savings will still benefit the consumer. He said the savings a light roof would achieve in the summer months by keeping the home cool would more than offset the additional need for heat in the winter. "This is a measure that saves everybody throughout the world, uniformly, in terms of energy saving," noting that the idea is not a fix-all for climate issues. "It improves the ambient comfort and it cools the globe. There is absolutely no negative impact for this."

Mr. Akbari also states "There's not going to be a silver bullet or one single technology that solves the global warming problem. If there was, we would have already done it."

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

How much money can you save from installing a white roof coating system?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conducted several studies that demonstrate that in hot sunny conditions, a black roof surface is 70 degrees or more hotter than a white reflective roof surfaces. Across the country, this translates to approximately $750,000,000 every year in reduced energy consumption simply by replacing existing black roofs with Energy Star rated white reflective roof coatings like the ones manufactured by Conklin Roofing Systems.

Reflective roof coatings can be made from a variety of materials that comply with building code standards for cool roofing. Installers of coating systems can either roll-on or spray-on roof coatings over existing spray polyurethane foam (SPF), metal, concrete, weathered asphalt, composite, modified bitumen, EPDM, TPO, PVC, and built-up roofing systems.

How much a particular building owner or manager will save from installing a white reflective roof coating depends on climate, existing insulation, the roofing system being coated, utility rates, the particular materials being used, installation method by the contractor, and other factors. There are tools available to calculate your specific savings potential such as the Department of Energy Cool Roof Calculator and the Roof Savings Calculator.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

White roofs cool cities more than trees do

Cities are hot spots. Their paved surfaces and dark rooftops absorb energy from the sun, which creates localized areas of high temperatures. These hot roofs and blacktops collectively create a blanket of retained warmth in a city, raising temperatures an annual average of about 2-5 degrees Fahrenheit. This phenomenon (known as the urban heat island effect) can have huge impacts on energy use and even health in the warm months, almost like wearing a city-sized sweater on a hot day in July.

As cities become focused on reducing energy use and costs, this inherent increase in temperature is seen as an important target. Combating the urban heat island effect has become an official imperative in cities across the county and all over the world. There are various approaches to fighting the problem, but the primary methods are to plant more trees and make roofs reflect rather than absorb heat.

"Million Tree" campaigns have been launched in cities like New York and Los Angeles, and Phoenix recently approved a Tree and Shade Master Plan to increase the city’s tree canopy to cover 25% of the city over the next two decades. And while trees can help bring down temperatures, new research suggests that it might make more sense to invest in white roof coatings.

In a study recently published in the journal Building and Environment, researchers from Yale University show that the cooling effect of tree cover and other vegetated areas is far outpaced by the cooling achieved through reflective roofing. By analyzing satellite imagery of the city of Chicago from around 1995 and 2009, the researchers found that the parts of the city that had increased their reflectivity show greater reductions in temperature than areas that increased their vegetation.

"That might be contrary to the established view the field has," says Chris Mackey, lead author of the report who started the research as an undergrad studying architecture at Yale. That’s not to say planting trees is a bad method - it’s just not as good as making a rooftop more reflective.

These findings, co-produced by Mackey and a team of researchers at Yale’s Center for Earth Observation, add extra validation to efforts by Chicago, which in 2008 implemented an ordinance requiring most new roofs and roof renovations to be constructed using reflective materials. The program is implemented through the city’s energy conservation code, which passed in the early 2000's.

This study offers at least some data on how well that program is working. The city’s Department of Buildings doesn’t have any hard figures on how many reflective roofs have been built or installed, but Mackey says the satellite imagery he used shows parts of the city with huge swathes of white. One neighborhood had an estimated 80% conversion from black tar roofs to reflective surfaces, and Mackey says the observed temperatures in that area dropped at least 38 degrees. Another collection of warehouses with reflective roofs saw drops of at least 41 degrees.

What conspicuously did not show any significant signs of cooling are the city’s famous green roofs. Because the vegetation of these gardens is at such a low density, it hardly registered in Mackey’s analysis. Not even the well-known City Hall green roof exhibited cooling power.

"The green roof is barely doing anything in comparison to the tree, and the tree is barely doing anything in comparison to painting a warehouse roof white," Mackey says. "I don’t want to discredit green roofs as not potentially a good thing at all. But it would take a lot of money and effort to get a high enough density of vegetation to start cooling things down."

What takes less money and effort is the reflective roof approach. The EPA estimates that "cool roof" coatings and membranes like those from Conklin cost about 5-20 cents more per square foot when compared to traditional roofing methods. A 10,000 square foot roof might cost about $4,500 to coat with reflective roofing, while a similarly sized green roof could cost upwards of $150,000.

"If you were trying to develop a heat island strategy, reflective roofs would be the easiest and most effective," Mackey says.

Green roofs and planting shouldn’t be ignored, but Mackey suggests that the reflective roof approach would be a good way to make dramatic changes quickly. "Once you reach that capacity, then you could start to focus on vegetation increases," he says.


Find a Contractor here


ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

The long history (and future) of white roofs

Unlike high-technology solutions to reduce energy use like light-emitting diodes (LED's) in lamp fixtures, white roofs have a long and humble history. Houses in hot climates around the world have been whitewashed literally for centuries now.

From a U.S. perspective, before the advent of central air-conditioning in the mid-20th-century, white and cream-colored houses with reflective tin roofs were the norm in places like South Florida. Then central air-conditioning arrived, along with dark roofs whose basic ingredients were often asphalt, tar and bitumen, or asphalt-based shingles. These materials absorb as much as 90% of the sun’s heat energy — often useful in New England, but less so in places like Texas. By contrast, a white roof can absorb as little as 10-15%.

"Relative newcomers to the West and South brought a lot of habits and products from the Northeast,” said Joe Reilly, the president of American Rooftile Coatings, a supplier. “What you see happening now is common sense.”

Around the country, roof makers are racing to develop products like those from Conklin in the hope of profiting as the movement spreads from the flat roofs of the country’s malls to the sloped roofs of its suburbs.

Years of detailed work by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory have provided the roof makers with a rainbow of colors, showing the amount of light that each hue reflects and the amount of heat it re-emits. White is not always a buyer’s first choice of color, so manufacturers like Conklin and others have used federal color charts to create “cool” but traditional colors, like cream, sienna and gray, that yield savings (though less than what purely white roofs do).

In an experiment, the National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, had two kinds of terra-cotta-colored cement tiles installed on four new homes at the Fort Irwin Army base in California. One kind was covered with a special paint and reflected 45% of the sun’s rays — nearly twice as much as the other kind. The two homes with roofs of highly reflective paint used 35% less electricity last summer than the two with less reflective paint.

Hashem Akbari of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory says he is unsure how long it will take cool roofs to truly catch on. But he points out that most roofs, whether tile or asphalt-shingle, have a life span of 20-25 years. If the roughly 5% of all roofs that are replaced each year were given cool colors, he said, the country’s transformation would be complete in just two decades.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

White roof coatings help your roof last a long, long time

Reduced energy use isn't the only benefit of white roof coatings like those from Conklin - they also extend the life expectancy of several roof systems simply by avoiding the high roof temperatures associated with exposure to the sun.

Heavily insulated roofs block this heat from penetrating the building as heat, but in summer months convective heat transfer to the surrounding air and radiant heat transfer are inefficient. Consequently, the heat has nowhere to go and roofing membrane temperatures can skyrocket.

High roof surface temperatures can shorten the life of the roofing system
Rubber and other synthetic polymers - and especially asphalt - is susceptible to damage after prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures. Roof temperatures can rise above ambient air temperatures by as much as 90°F, accelerating the rate of degradation of the roofing materials - especially when the roof surface rises to 140°F and above. Significant damage can begin to occur at these elevated temperatures, causing both short-term and long-term performance issues.Service life is cut in half for every 18°F increase in temperature (weighted and averaged over time).

Most people appreciate that white roof coatings result in savings on cooling costs, but enhanced roof longevity - especially in northern states - can be another major benefit that results in at least as much savings. Without white coatings, roof temperatures can soar in the summer months because they typically have a lot of insulation to help keep in the heat during the winter months.

Additional Cost Savings
Since ripping out the insulation every summer is of course impractical, white coatings are one of the best means available to counteract the deleterious effects of high heat levels and enhance the prospects for a long-lasting roofing system.


Find a Contractor here


ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Roof coatings provide a faster Return on Investment (ROI)

Roof coatings like those from Conklin contribute to the bottom-line by producing a Return on Investment (ROI) in just a few years.

A cool roofing installer can apply roof coatings without delay and doesn't need to tear-off your existing roof system. Coatings extend the life of the roof for most buildings and roof systems - regardless of age or the amount of insulation already in place.

Even on a well-insulated roofing system, coatings can extend the roof performance life and provide additional energy savings. A roof coating is complementary to insulation, ultimately lowering roof temperatures and extending the life.

Now is the time look at roof coatings in a new light. They can create the immediate savings you are searching for, and they can contribute to a more energy-efficient, sustainable nation and future economic prosperity.


Find a Contractor here


ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

When re-covering a roof, liquid-applied membranes are an excellent choice

There are two installation options when it comes to liquid-applied membranes: squeegee and spray application (which is generally used with coated-polyurethane-foam systems).

Liquid applied systems are highly useful as re-covers for weight-sensitive applications, such as pre-engineered steel buildings. Coated-polyurethane-foam systems are excellent for adding insulating value to a re-cover roof and fixing slope-to-drain problems, and for those in more arid regions, they also have the benefit of being sensitive to humidity during installation.

PLEASE NOTE: If a silicone roof coating is used, the roof system is not sensitive to grease and oil emissions, as silicone is fairly inert.

Squeegee-applied roof systems are mostly used to prolong the life of an existing smooth-surface roof. They are an effective, low-cost alternative to re-roofing but are not necessarily a permanent replacement. Newer, liquid-applied roofing systems can last as long as 10 years, but the roof has to be in fairly stable and dry condition when the new liquid membrane is applied.

There are several options available when undertaking a re-roofing project. Sorting them out before bidding is the best way to assure the most appropriate roof system is chosen for the building. A properly trained and knowledgeable roofing contractor can help differentiate the options.

If you are not currently working with a particular roofing contractor or feel uncomfortable having the same company both designing and installing your roof, an architect or engineer who specializes in roof consulting can sort out the best options and provide construction documents that allow you to bid out the work to the best contractors, knowing the roof system is optimized to fit your building.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Conklin's Rapid Roof III Takes a Beating and Still Clobbers the Competition

A side-by-side assessment of Rapid Roof III over foam and a similar competitive product illustrated the amazing superiority of the Conklin product compared to the competition.

A 2010 investigation of an Oklahoma City roof coated with both Rapid Roof and the competitor’s product compared a 10’ x 10’ area of each application, and showed the following:

• The depth of the damage from hail strikes was between an eighth and a quarter of an inch on the Rapid Roof sample, and up to six times deeper on the competitive sample.
• The distance between strikes was far greater on the Conklin sample than on the competitive sample, which showed a tight pattern of damage.
• The total number of strikes that showed damage was 13 on the Conklin sample, and 105 on the competitive sample!

A “veteran” of the Conklin Roofing Systems product line, Rapid Roof III has been taking on Mother Nature for over 25 years . . . and is still on a winning streak. And like all of our Conklin roof coatings, it’s unstoppable against the competition!

Find a Contractor here


ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Cold Call + Cool Roof Recommendation = A Sizzling Opportunity for Conklin IBO Delmarva Roofing & Coating, Inc.

When Conklin Roofing Systems Independent Business Owner Sheldon Swartzentruber made a cold call to Playtex® Products, Inc. to offer his roofing services, he was given a job nobody wanted – re-roofing the facility’s boiler room. Other contractors, it seems, had experienced problems with re-roofing the area over the boiler room because of the heat stacks, and no one was interested in that particular task.

A perfect job for Conklin’s spray foam roof system
Sheldon’s successful re-roof of the Playtex boiler room led to several more small jobs, until eventually Playtex began accepting his bids for larger jobs. Now his company, Delmarva Roofing & Coating, Inc., re-coats a section of roof per year for Playtex on average, and Sheldon has had the opportunity to try a number of Conklin systems on the expansive Dover, DE facility.

“To date, we have installed Conklin foam and coating on approximately 400,000 square feet of the facility,” says Sheldon. “The majority of jobs that we do for Playtex are spray foam systems,” he continues, “but we frequently use the Single-Ply system on sections of new construction, because architects tend to prefer membrane systems — and the 15-year warranty that we offer with them.” Sheldon’s team has applied Hy-Crown® membrane on approximately 180,000 square feet of the facility.

Old is New Again
Delmarva's next Playtex job involved renewing Conklin’s superior protection on the two original sections of foam and coating that were put down almost two decades ago – an 18,000 square-foot section, to which Sheldon originally applied a Conklin roof in 1991, and a 56,700 square-foot section that Sheldon originally coated with Conklin systems in 1993. “At that time,” says Sheldon, “I figured that each of those roofs would last about 12–15 years. Now almost 20 years later, the roofs are still problem-free and going strong — they’re just in need of a warranty renewal.”

In addition to the exceptional long-term performance of Conklin Roofing Systems, says Sheldon, “building owners like our roofs because they’re environmentally friendly, and also kind to the customer’s bottom line.”


Find a Contractor here



ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

About Reflective Roof Coatings

Light-colored roof coatings like those offered by Conklin are commonly used in climates that use cooling because dark colors absorb heat, and light colors reflect heat. Roofs have intense solar heat gain (energy) because of their relatively flat exposure to the sun. The intense solar gain raises the temperature of the roof membrane (sometimes near 200F), which increases cooling load in the building and shortens life of the roof. You can lower cooling costs and extend roof life by hiring a certified professional roofing contractor to install a light colored coating (also called cool-coating system) over an existing roof.

Light-colored roofs do reflect some of the incident solar energy. A term used as a measure of reflectivity and absorptivity is albedo. The higher the albedo of a surface, the less energy it absorbs, and the cooler a temperature it maintains. Typical built-up flat roof surface materials such as modified bitumen and tar and gravel (with albedos from 0.10 to 0.20) can absorb over 70% of the solar energy that falls on them and can reach temperatures of 170–200F.

Ultraviolet (UV) light rays can penetrate roofing membranes and cause accelerated chemical degradation of the roofing materials. High-performance elastomeric white reflective coating systems contain substantial levels of UV-blocking pigments that keep heat away. A cool surface reflects the sun’s ultraviolet rays and slows down roof aging. Roofing materials also contract and expand daily as they heat up during the day and cool down at night. A roof with a cool coating doesn’t experience such large daily temperature fluctuations, so it undergoes less thermal fatigue. Reflective roof coatings are usually sold as maintenance products because they extend the life of the roof.

Application

This product is best for low slope or flat roofs which have low insulation levels and mineral cap sheet or single-ply roof membranes. Adding a cool coating is most beneficial for a building which:

♦ Is in a climate with hot, sunny weather during at least part of the year

♦ Uses significant cooling energy and/or has problems maintaining comfort

♦ Has a large roof area compared to the rest of the building’s surface area

♦ Has roofing which tends to crack and age prematurely from sun damage

Prior to 1998 there were few standards regarding effectiveness or quality of products. The industry formed the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) in 1998 to provide information and develop a comparative rating system. Look for reflective information or Energy Star labeling on roofing products.

Performance & Costs

When a dark single-ply roof is coated with a white reflective coating, the albedo can rise from 0.20 to 0.65-0.85 and surface temperatures will remain below 135F in sunny weather. With a lightly insulated roof on a low-rise building in a cooling climate, heat reflective coatings can save over 40% of cooling energy used by the building and have a lifetime of 10 to 15 years. Roof lifetimes will be extended because of the reduced temperatures.

Numerous studies confirm that coatings can reduce surface temperatures by 50-80F and save significant amounts of cooling energy during summer months. Regardless of the amount of roof insulation, buildings tend to show reductions of 25-67% in cooling energy usage.

Typical coating costs can vary from 50 cents to $1 per square foot depending on quality of coating and roof condition. Reflective coatings will extend the life of an existing roof by lowering temperatures, but it cannot repair a failed roof. A high quality coating may last for over 10 years on a roof in good condition and extend the life of that roof.

Availability

Roof coatings are readily available through a large number of manufacturers, including Conklin. The primary barrier to use of this product is the fact that it is viewed by many installers as a maintenance product and not recognized for its energy performance.

If you are interested in white roof coatings for your building, to find a professional Conklin roofing contractor in your area, please click here.

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

What You Need To Know About Flat Roof Coatings

Flat roof coatings like those from Conklin can be a good investment for many facilities. A flat roof coating can extend the life of a roof because it lowers the roof temperature. It can also lead to additional energy savings as the temperature is reduced.

Still, because there are so many different types of roofs in use today, specifying a flat roof coating isn't easy. Different substrates require different coatings. A coating’s adhesion might depend as much on the substrate’s characteristics as on the coating type. In general, it is more difficult for coatings to adhere to hard, smooth, chemically inert surfaces and easier on rough, irregular, chemically active surfaces.

A coating’s adhesion to a substrate often improves when the installers put down a primer or base coat. Coatings manufacturers recommend certain primers or base coats to match a specific topcoat with a specific substrate. You should use only the base coat or primer specified by the coating’s manufacturer.

With the introduction of roof membranes such as ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermal polyolefin (TPO), Hypalon, modified bitumen, and built-up roofing, manufacturers have developed a variety of roof coatings to address multiple substrates with different adhesion and weathering characteristics.

You can specify asphaltic and tar-based coatings for use with coal-tar-pitch built-up roof systems. Non-asphaltic coatings, including urethanes, acrylics, and polyureas, are most commonly used on single-ply systems.

Each of these coatings has different cost and performance factors. Due to variations in coating formulations, you should work closely with a roof consultant and the manufacturer to make sure they specify the right coating for the roof substrate and that workers perform the correct repairs before applying the coating. Manufacturer representatives and product data sheets also can assist in specifying coatings.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

An Overview of White Roof Coatings: Part 1

There are two main purposes of white roof coatings like those from Conklin. The first is to protect roof membranes and provide longer roof life cycles. The second is to reflect solar radiation and lower energy costs. Generally speaking, a white roof coating consists of a binder blended with pigments and other additives. Most roof coatings can be conveniently classified according to the binder they use.

Binders, Pigments & Liquid Carriers

Binders are usually made of an organic or silicone compound. Most binders are elastic polymers with elongation and tensile characteristics (also known as elastomers) which have the ability to return to their original shape after being stretched or deformed. In white roof coatings, the elastomer binder is the viscous, pliant material that bonds the pigments and makes them adhere to the surface. Common elastomers used as binders in white coatings include acrylic, silicone, rubber, vinyl, and urethane.

Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are the common pigments that impart a bright white color to the coatings, although other pigments can be combined with these to yield a variety of pastel colors.

The majority of white roof coatings are water-based. These products (often referred to as latex coatings) are available in a variety of polymer types. The water in latex coatings serves as a liquid carrier, allowing the pigment and binder to be spread onto the surface as a thin coating. For some white roof coatings, organic solvents are used as the liquid carrier, while others (often referred to as reactive coatings) may have sufficient flowability to eliminate the need for a liquid carrier. Reactive coatings are generally prepared with multiple-part resins often blended on site, before curing.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Reflectance and the Future of Roof Coatings

Reflectance is measured according to strict standards. A perfect reflector would have a value of 100 percent for all wavelengths of light. When just one value of reflectance is given, it usually represents an average value weighted according to intensity across the solar spectrum.

With the growing recognition of reflectance as an important design parameter, reflectance values are being thoroughly measured across the entire solar spectrum (including infrared wavelengths) and accurate values for specific materials and coatings are becoming readily available.

The beauty of a white roof coating like those from Conklin is that the pigments, such as zinc oxide (ZnO) or titanium dioxide (TiO2), scatter a large fraction of the incident photons back into the sky, optimized for reflection in the visible and nearinfrared bands. Metal-oxide pigments used in white coatings scatter light by the same mechanism that light is scattered with by the water droplets in a cloud, or fog; the scattering is due to the tiny particle size. Except for the small particle size, these materials would be transparent to light, because the metal atoms are oxidized, i.e., the valence electrons of the metals are held by the oxygen and do not interact with the incoming photons.

Most white coatings have a very high reflectance across all visible wavelengths and also have a high reflectance for near-infrared radiation (NIR). Typical reflectance values averaged over these wavelengths are in the neighborhood of 70 percent or 80 percent.

Interested in white roof coatings for your building?

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

For Roof Coatings, Longevity is also Important

California lawmakers deserve applause for encouraging the use of white roof coatings like those from Conklin to reduce energy costs. But lower energy use is not the only benefit that accrues from the use of white roof coatings.

White coatings can extend the life expectancy of many different types of commercial roofing systems simply by avoiding the high roof temperatures associated with exposure to the sun.

The technical term for exposure is “insolation,” and it is measured in terms of the rate of solar radiation received per unit area (typically expressed in Watts per square meter). Under very clear skies, up to 1,220 W/m2 of solar radiation reaches the rooftop. Imagine ordinary household hair dryers every 10 feet in both directions of a twodimensional array: that is the intensity of the sun’s energy incident upon a rooftop. Heavily insulated roof systems block this heat from penetrating the building as heat; however, in summer months, convective heat transfer to the surrounding air and radiant heat transfer are inefficient. Consequently, the heat has nowhere to go and roofing membrane temperatures can soar.

For commercial roofing systems made from organic materials, high temperatures can shorten the life of the roofing system. Rubber as well as other synthetic polymers and especially asphalt, is susceptible to damage at these elevated temperatures. Roof temperatures can rise above ambient air temperatures by as much as 90°F. Meanwhile, the rate of degradation of the roofing materials begins to accelerate at modestly elevated temperatures, for example at 140°F. Significant damage can begin to occur at these elevated temperatures, causing both short-term and long-term performance issues.

As temperatures rise to the peak of this range, degradation of roofing systems increases exponentially. Lighter and hence more volatile organic compounds may evaporate into the atmosphere, and chemical reaction rates with water, oxygen and contaminants also increase. As a result, roof life expectancies are shortened. A rule of thumb for thermal aging is that service life is cut in half for every 18°F increase in temperature (weighted and averaged over time).

Most people appreciate that white coatings result in savings on cooling costs, but enhanced roof longevity, especially in northern states, can be another major benefit that results in at least as much savings. Without white coatings, roof temperatures can skyrocket in the summer months, especially for buildings in northern climates, because they typically have a lot of insulation to help keep in the heat during the winter months.

The inverse correlation between insulation thickness and roof life is well documented by roof asset management firms. Since ripping out the insulation every summer is of course impractical, white coatings are one of the best means available to counteract the deleterious effects of high heat levels and enhance the prospects for a long-lasting roofing system.

Look for a Conklin Roofing Systems contractor in your area:

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

California Leads the Way in Environmental Legislation

California is noted for taking the lead in environmental legislation, particularly in clean air and energy conservation. Recent legislation in California underscores the merits of using white coatings like those from Conklin on commercial buildings to reduce energy costs.

California Title 24 legislation is exemplary for its support of white coatings. Exempting buildings with high-reflectance roofing from energy audits makes sense because white coatings dramatically decrease the need for insulation and air conditioning.

Alleviating solar heating loads directly affects peak electricity requirements. Peak electric loads are often the basis for the price of electricity because they establish the energy generating needs of a region.

California Title 24 legislation requires a detailed energy audit on a new building, to show that solar heat is dissipated or removed in an energy efficient manner, e.g., through insulation and climate control systems, unless the building uses highly reflective roofing with reflectance values above 0.70. Hence, Title 24 sends a strong message to building designers: The best way to cool a building is to divert the solar energy before it raises temperatures.

Look for a Conklin Roofing Systems contractor in your area:



ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com