Cool Roof Tile
jerry27
| Posted in General Questions on
I’ve been thinking of redoing my roof. It seems there is a material called a cool roof that reflects the sun rays and gives off the absorbed heat to the atmosphere. I don’t know anyone who has used this tile for roofing. Is it a tile painted with white for reflective purposes to help with heat or is it a material by itself that does the trick?
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Replies
Cool roofs have gained some traction in urban environments for their ability to reduce heat island effect and outdoor water consumption. You can read about that here: Cool Roofs Cut Urban Water Consumption and Green and Cool Roofs Provide Relief for Hot Cities. In terms of single-family residential applications, this is a good piece about how cool roofs work and some of the materials (including tiles) commonly used: Save Energy With a Cool Roof.
Thank you for the quick response. That was a very informative article that gave me a clear picture of the cool roof. It provides how the rest of the roofing materials absorb heat. Now I've no doubts about what to go for in roofing.
Jerry27,
If you are redoing the roof and have a simple roofline, you have the opportunity to consider putting rigid foam on the exterior. To learn more, read https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/how-to-install-rigid-foam-on-top-of-roof-sheathing.
We lived in Australia for a few years, 18 deg S of the equator. We had our metal roof repainted with a "cool roof" reflective paint and it made a huge difference. Be aware that such a roof is _bright_ on a sunny day, and many areas now have restrictions where they can be used because they can be visually obnoxious.