Eco Factor: White roofs help reflect sunlight and reduce carbon emission.
All of us know that light colors are great reflectors, while darker ones are best absorbers. Why not utilize the same technique for our roofs. Dr. Steven Chu, United States Secretary of Energy has recently directed all Energy Department offices to install white roofs during new construction, when replacing old roofs and wherever an installation is cost-effective over the lifetime of the roof.
Light colored roofs can help in cooling the planet as they reflect the sunlight back into the atmosphere. One of the easiest, fastest and lowest-cost ways to reduce our global carbon emissions, lighter-colored roofs will also help in reducing the heat island effect. In addition, it will help in slowing climate change and reduce air-conditioning bills for individual buildings.
A research by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Heat Island Group last year found that retrofitting 80 percent of air-conditioned U.S. buildings with white roofs could reduce carbon emission equivalent to removing 1.2 million cars from the road and save $735 million annually by reduced power consumption. Another study by researchers with the Berkeley lab showed that increasing the reflectivity of surfaces in urban areas is capable of offsetting the heating effect of 1.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide emission annually.
Via: NYTimes
