ENERGY SAVINGS

Does a white roof really make a difference in energy savings? Consider the fact that more money and energy is spent in cooling a building than heating it. In the summer, a black roof can rise to 60° or even 80° centigrade. To bring the building down to a comfortable 20°, you would need to cool the building by 40° to 60°. Couple this with the fact that most cooling equipment is only about 60% efficient. On the other hand, a white roof will only rise a few degrees above ambient temperature in the summer thanks to its reflective nature. To maintain a comfortable 20° inside the building during a 30° summer day, you only need to cool the building by 10°. When you put it all together, 4 times more energy is lost to cool a building with a black roof while compensating with machinery that is only 60% efficient. It's money out the window. On average, a white roof will save about 10c per square foot in cooling costs. For a 10,000 square foot building, that's about $1000 or more per year in air conditioning savings alone. You'll also be prolonging the life of your air conditioning system in the long run. Lucky you. During the winter, some would argue that a black roof makes it easier to heat a building. They may be right, but only on dry days during the late fall and early spring. Since a wet roof doesn't heat up by the sun, nor does it rise in temperature when blanketed by snow, both a white and a black roof will stay close to the same temperature. Overall, a white roof makes a big difference.

CITY REBATE

Toronto's Eco-Roof Incentive Program provides funding for green or cool roof retrofit projects on existing commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. You could be eligible for a substantial rebate. Click HERE for more information.