Hey everyone! Been a while! Like… two years a while…
There, sadly, is not much to say in roofing. It’s a pretty straightforward thing. But, thankfully, now there IS something to talk about!
It’s called Title 24, or “The California Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards” or TCT24EES for short!
EDIT – Nevermind that last part, the “for short” thing. I’ve been informed that they don’t call it that.
Anyways, as the government of California likes to do every other day or so, they passed a broad, sweeping regulation. This time it affects building codes and energy efficiency. You can view a rather thorough explanation of it at this link an outline of it from the state itself at this link and a completely unrelated picture of a pine cone at this link.
The explanation by the state of CA of Title 24 is as follows:
California’s energy code is designed to reduce wasteful and unnecessary energy consumption in newly constructed and existing buildings. The California Energy Commission updates the Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24, Parts 6 and 11) every three years by working with stakeholders in a public and transparent process.
The kinds of structures that this applies to are:
“All new construction of, and additions and alterations to, residential and nonresidential buildings are covered except hospitals, nursing homes, correctional centers, jails, and prisons.”
In terms of roofing specifically, here is a PDF file of California’s explanation of what a “Cool Roof” is:
The term cool roof refers to a roofing product with high solar reflectance (sr) and thermal emittance (te) properties. These properties help reduce electricity used for air conditioning by lowering roof temperatures on hot, sunny days. Solar reflectance refers to a material’s ability to reflect the sun’s solar energy back into the atmosphere. Thermal emittance provides a means of quantifying how much of the absorbed heat is rejected for a given material. Both properties are measured from 0 to 1 and the higher the value, the ‘cooler’ the roof.
I would also like to add that a “cool roof” could also be one that is up with the current fashion trends, latest news of world events, and has a broad spectrum of music tastes to suit anyone’s needs. We here at Garvey Roofing, however, do not install such roofs as they sadly do not exist.
As per the kinds of roofing that we do install, all are up to code with California’s requirements for cool roofing.
Sarcasm and witty writing aside, I do highly recommend you consider going the whole nine yards with a future roofing installation from us. We are not going to be the cheapest bid you’ll receive, and that is for good reason. We use the best materials available and have over 30 years of experience behind us. Tom Garvey has been roofing buildings longer than I have been alive. There’s something to be said for that. (I’m 34 if you’re wondering. Last I checked I was 30. That was like… last month. Make it stop.)
If you are the owner of a commercial building with a flat roof, it is either suggested or outright demanded (depending on what city the property is located in) that you coat the roof white with silicone coating. However, as I have seen with the state of California, a suggestion in terms of regulations eventually turns into a requirement.
It’s a good idea to coat the roof white anyways. Yes, it’s expensive, but the difference in terms of temperature you will experience inside is substantial. You won’t be running your nearly air conditioning as much as you do already, it will add another layer of protection onto the roof, thus extending the life of the roof substantially. It will also raise the value of the property.
