White roofs can be three times more profitable in the fight against climate change than landscaped ones.
In a new report entitled "Economic Comparison of White, Green, and Black Flat Roofs in the United States" by Julian Sproul, Benjamin Mandel, and Arthur Rosenfeld of the Berkeley Lab, and Man Pun Wan of the Nanyang Technological University Singapore, offers a comparative economic study of three types of roofs.
The study was published in the volume of Energy and Buildings, which highlights the importance of white cover, with a result that has impacted the community of professionals"The white decks win based on purely economic factors that we include, and the black decks must be reduced"said study co-author Rosenfeld, a distinguished Berkeley lab scientist and former chairman of the California Energy Commission.
The study analyzes 22 projects of flat roof in buildings commercials in the United States in which garden roofs, white roofs and black roofs.
Evaluates which roof offers the best profitability taking into account environmental factors such as energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, avoiding rain loads, … Although, it does not take into account the aesthetic benefits or the opportunity to enjoy a green space in the places where you live or work.
Leaving aside the "black" covers and focusing on the Green / White comparison. Green roofs offer a host of environmental benefits, provide both acoustic and thermal insulation, reduce rainwater runoff, and save on energy consumption.
However, this study conducted for a 50-year life cycle, assuming that the useful life of the white covers It is 20 years and that of the garden roofs is 40 years, when we take into account the necessary costs of installation, maintenance and replacement, and the benefits in environmental factors that we obtain with the execution of each one of them, states that white roofs can be three times more profitable in the fight against climate change.
Rosenfeld, who started at the Berkeley Lab in the 1950s, is often called the godfather of energy efficiency for his pioneering work in California. He was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2012, one of the highest honors in the nation.
He has been a supporter of reflective covers, including white covers as a form of sustainable construction to reduce energy costs and tackle global warming.
He co-authored a 2009 study estimating that making roofs and pavements around the world more reflective could offset 44 billion tons of CO2 emissions. A later study using a global model of the Earth's surface found similar results: "cool roofs" could offset the emissions of around 300 million cars over 20 years.
Access to the article in English … HERE.
By the way, we have an excellent article on rehabilitation of roofs in homes with different manuals of interest.
If you liked the article, rate and share!
